Bird Watching: Search for a new Papa, 1 by 2dCousinDave

2dCousinDave wrote:
Well, here is an update.

We got home last night (Sunday) about midnight and the first thing I did (even before I unpacked the car), was turn on the nestcam to see if I could tell what had happened in the three days we had been gone. Mama was on the nest, which didn't tell me much because if the eggs had not yet hatched, she would have still been there, trying. But I noticed she was not moving her lower body the way she did when she was rotating the eggs. And she seemed to have her feathers spread in a different way.

I checked back a little while later and did see her move and a part of the nest was exposed. I saw at least two little heads, so I knew at least some of the eggs had hatched and that they were alive. But the two big questions would not be answered until this morning. Was the new male still here, and how was he reacting to the hatchlings?

Well, so far the answer to every question is positive. All five eggs hatched and each chick appears to be well. The new male is acting as if these were his offspring, bringing mostly spiders for them to eat. It is still cool this morning so Mama remains on the nest most of the time, brooding. The new male hands the insect in to her and she feeds the chicks. I put out some meal worms and the adults ate like they were starving. Not surprising since they probably brought any insects they could find to the five nestlings, depriving themselves.

Here is the step dad with a spider.