2011 - Kinderchicklets / Will the Brandon chicks be okay?

[The Peregrine Chick]

Hey Kinderchicklets ...

I know you were worried about the two surviving Brandon chicks a few days ago when it kept raining and raining and raining.  They were very lucky because when the really really big rainstorm came, they were much older and they could get a little wet and it wouldn't hurt them any.  And since there were only two left, there was lots of space under Hurricane and Brooklyn for them to stay warm and dry!  When you look at the chicks now, you can see how much more they have grown and that they are growing their second coat of downy feathers - if we get more rain, I'm sure that Hurricane will be helping to keep them dry and their new feathers will help too!  Soon they will look like fluffy white marshmallows which is good - their marshallow jaceket will work just like your winter jacket if it gets cold or wet again.  When its warm outside they do get kind of hot with their marshmallow jackets on though, so they like to lie on their tummies so that the cold rocks on the bottom of the nestbox help to cool them off.  That's something you can try at home sometime ... when its very hot outside, find a patch of sidewalk that is in the shade and lie down on your tummy - the sidewalk will feel very cool and will help to cool you down too. 

[Kinderchick]

The Kinderchicklets have been watching both the Radisson and the Brandon webcams this past week and I am amazed that they are able to keep all of the names of the birds straight and know where they live. They were, however, very sad to hear of another chick dying in the Brandon nestbox, Tracy. It was especially sad for a few of the 'chicklets when we could see the chick still in the nestbox this morning. But I see that Hurricane has recently removed it.

They are happy for the remaining 2 chicks, though, so I am trying to be positive about that. Still, they are concerned about these 2 chicks and so a few of them want me to ask you if they will be okay. These life and death issues are always very sensitive, where young children are concerned. I did try to explain that I was pretty sure the remaining 2 chicks would be just fine, now that they are older and they are able to keep their body temperature warm enough and it has stopped raining but maybe you could add a few words of assurance yourself, Tracy, whenever you have time.