West Winnipeg - 2010 / Beau & Jules

[The Peregrine Chick]

1410 hrs - Jules just stepped out fo the nestbox for a moment and in came Beau to watch over the chicks.  Poor guy, he was really bewildered about what he should be doing ... would she be gone long enough that he would need to brood them, what the heck are these round things blowing about the box, why are the white things wiggling ... at which point Jules came back, check the tots out (not like they could really get up to anything in her absence) and now she is stuffing them under her again.  Its dry at the moment but the wind is up and she gets fluffed and buffetted abit when she's standing.  When she tucks down on the chicks s/he are more protected from the wind because the box itself is recessed a bit.

1411 hrs - Jules is off again, chicks are in a wee pile out of the wind.  Usually means she is off to get some food, hopefully she will be back in a minute or two ... so long as it isn't raining, they will be fine for a few minutes ...

1412 hrs - Beau is back and just as confused though he is getting stuck in there now ...

1413 hrs - Jules is back, Beau is off.  Jules is attempting to stuff again ... if she could just get the little darlings more toward the middle of the box it would be so much easier for her to get comfy ...

[bcbird]

TPC, great description of how it goes with feeding very new chicks by first time parents.

[Kinderchick]

...And as of 1153, chick number three just broke his/her shell and she is in the process of stuffing the little darlings well under her.

"And then there were 3!" Very excellent news!

[Ibis]

Great news, Tracy! Thanks for the updates.

[allikat]

And I add another ~     WOO HOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm so happy for Beau & Jules!!!!  Congratulations on three cute little white fluffy chicks!!!!!!!!!!!!   

(Just keep them under you until all this yucky weather goes away)

[Saoirse]

In the absence of a web cam on the West Winnipeg nest, it's fantastic to get your reports about Jules and Beau and their three chicks -- thanks so much!

[carly]

1226 hrs (local) - Jules and Beau have taken advantage of a break in the rain (light and otherwise) to feed their chicks - there are three now, one is begging mightily, other two are joining in as the meal progresses ...

Excellent news!!  Three babies for our Jules and her new Beau 

[The Peregrine Chick]

1226 hrs (local) - Jules and Beau have taken advantage of a break in the rain (light and otherwise) to feed their chicks - there are three now, one is begging mightily, other two are joining in as the meal progresses ...

[The Peregrine Chick]

Weather forecast sucks for the next two days ...

Today - Showers with risk of a thunderstorm. Wind southeast 20 km/h increasing to 40 gusting to 60 this afternoon. High 23. UV index 3 or moderate.   Tonight Showers with a few thunderstorms ending late this evening then cloudy periods. Risk of a severe thunderstorm this evening. Amount 10 to 15 mm. Wind southeast 40 km/h gusting to 60. Low 13.   
Friday - Cloudy. Showers beginning in the morning and ending late in the evening. Wind south 30 km/h becoming light early in the evening. Temperature steady near 15.   

Part of the forecast that doesn't suck ...

Saturday - Sunny. Low 12. High 21.   
Sunday - Sunny. Low 9. High 24.   
Monday - Sunny. Low 11. High 26.   
Tuesday - Sunny. Low 15. High 25.   
Wednesday - Sunny. Low 15. High 27.

[des]

Thank you so much for your reply, TPC.  I was very curious.

[ballywing]

Thanks TPC, great info for us to picture this new family!!! 

[The Peregrine Chick]

Only two chicks hatched as of dark tonight.  Took them a bit of time for a first meal but the chicks had three by the end of the day.  Took a bit of time for the adults to get the hang of feeding their chicks too - they lack skill but the chicks made up for the lack by being very hungry and understood the "big thing" had the food.  Will be interesting to see how they do tomorrow ... or rather later this morning    

How did this "lack of skill" show?  

The whole tab A in slot B process.  Neither is particularly confident feeding the chicks - its a bit of an art form that one learns with experience.  The chicks barely have enough strength to keep themselves upright - that's why they lean on each other and any unhatched eggs for the first couple of days - so being able to put food in a very small, moving target takes some practice.  They have been fed twice already this morning - nothing for the last couple of hours because of the rain but that is the standard response to lousy weather and young chicks.

[The Peregrine Chick]

Half the box has a roof but she's not making best use of it.  Gravel in the box drains as fast as it rains so no worries there.  As a result, Jules is wet and fluffed up by the wind but she's fine.  Its obvious she still new at this game, she moved more into the open yesterday but with the good weather that was fine, now she's damp and velcroed on her chicks. so they all seem fine.

And as of 1153, chick number three just broke his/her shell and she is in the process of stuffing the little darlings well under her.

[eagle63_1999]

Congrats to Jules and Beau, first time parents.  This will be a great experience for Jules for sure.  WOOOOO HOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ballywing]

TPC, is there enough cover in the nestbox to shelter the chicks from this  rain, or will Jules have to be velcroed to them every second