Hobbies - England / RSPB New Forest

[kittenface]

Hey we have an egg and chick here

[maggieblue]

I think that the little Hobby just fledged at 19:54 New Forest time.  S/he had been jumping up and exploring the surrounding branches today despite a howling gale.  S/he jumped down into the nest and then in a flash took flight and looked very strong.  Quite amazing  

[maggieblue]

There is a nice view of the Hobby chick right now on a beautiful English evening. 
For anyone going through chick withdrawl I am going to try posting a link to a video taken from the Hobby cam just after the first two chicks were hatched.  It provides a closeup view of an adult, Dad I think, giving them their first feeding.

http://www.newForestgateway.org/TVFilmVideoPlayer/tabid/174/VideoId/34/Hobby-Nestcam-2008.aspx

[Liz]

Thanks for that update, maggieblue.

[maggieblue]

The remaining Hobby chick appears to be doing well.  It is being fed regularly and has grown amazingly this week.  It has that ragamuffin look right now as it transforms into a juvenile.  The adults don't spend much time in the nest but you can hear them nearby and catch quick glimpses when they do a food drop.  One day last week the male decided that he would feed the chick instead of just dropping off the food.  It was wonderful to see.  Dad is one cool dude with, as someone put it, his rufous pants   It is hard to believe but according to the people who monitor the nest the Hobby could be ready to fledge in just over a week from now.  I hope that the wind dies down a bit as most days it appears to be really, really windy there.

[maggieblue]

A very sad day at the Hobby nest as the 2nd chick died today.  I wouldn't recommend that anyone check the cam first thing tommorow.  Not sure why this happened but the watchers there noted that feeding was erratic with multiple feeds some days and only one daylight feeds on others.  There was also a major rain storm this morning with the mom trying somewhat unsuccessfuly to shelter the two young.    Let us hope that the remaining chick is a surviror.

[eagle63_1999]

The chick was alive and sitting up and being fed at daybreak when I checked. I just looked now and it appears to still be alive but is lying on it's back and seems to be grasping for it's breath. I could not bear to watch any further.

[Moonstar]

So sad...looks like one of the chicks in the nest has died.
Since I went to the web cam this morning I only saw the one chick moving around.  The other one was so still...no movement at all.
Parent just brought food in and the one chick was walking all over the other one while parent fed it.  Looks like the one chick is lying on its back.  As other chick walked on it you could see the feet move because of the live chicks pressure.

[maggieblue]

Hi there.  There is a website for the New Forest Gateway Organization that has the Hobby cam plus a blog and ongoing observations.  It appears that the 3rd chick that was born 2 days after the first two wasn't strong enough to make it.  The other 2 appear to be doing O.K..  Yesterday I saw them having a tug of war over a bird that the parent brought in. 

[allikat]

I have been watching the Radisson (Winnipeg) falcons for a few years now, and I managed to get a co-worker hooked on Peregrines as much as I am!

The first thing we do when we arrive at work in the morning, turn on the computer and go the website to watch the little hobbies in the UK.  Now that comes before making coffee!!!!  Pretty impressive I think!

Those little ones are so cute, and they really make us miss our little Radisson babies! 

[Moonstar]

I was away for a few days and just got back late yesterday.
I had a lot of reading to catch up.  I saw not posts for this thread.
Has anyone been watching this camera the last few days?
I am sure there were three chicks in the nest on Thursday morning before I left.  Today I only see a pile of white fluff because of the horrible wind.  I have not seen a parent come to the nest since I have been watching this morning.
Just curious if anyone has any news on this nest.

[ballywing]

Mom just came back & wasted no time in settling herself on the chicks - The cam is a bit blurry - I could see for sure 2 chicks in a heap but til they sit up straight they just look like a white blob. If we catch a feeding we should be able to see if there are 3.  I think there's just 2 though.

[Moonstar]

I was watching this cam earlier this morning and the penent left and I am positive I saw 3 chicks.  Now it only looks like two.  At times it only looks like one.  The parent was gone for quite awhile this morning.  I checked again and the parent was back.  When I checked now there is no adult bird there. 

[skygirlblue]

LOL, I started to realize that after about an hour of listening to the 'thunder'..... - you're right, it's the wind! But I still wonder why there was no 'racket' during feeding like we're used to hearing....

Good point...and I have no clue...I haven't been able to catch mom off the little ones today...I'm wondering if that 3rd egg has hatched...I hope so...

[ballywing]

LOL, I started to realize that after about an hour of listening to the 'thunder'..... - you're right, it's the wind! But I still wonder why there was no 'racket' during feeding like we're used to hearing....