Eclectic Echoes

Trio
Originally uploaded by eclectic echoes.

This is the same trio of fledglings from an earlier photo. In this shot you can clearly see the juvenile markings (wing and back feathers are fringed with white and chest and head have buff colored patches). I had a pleasant conversation with the owner of the house near this roost. She told me the adults arrived just after St. Patricks day. This pair had two fledglings last year and the year before, one the previous year. She also said that these three began tentative wing excersises the night before last. Hopping on the edge of the roost while flapping. Gaining a few inches of height and then settling back into the roost.

Of the three other roosts I watch, this one’s fledglings are the furthest along. This is also the only roost with more than one juvenile. Four roosts, 6 juveniles, though the youngest one still has a ways to go before it is fairly certain it will successfully leave the roost. Half of these should survive their first year and return when they are breeding age.

Best viewed Large