Watch Out For Those Mobile Eyases!
The hatchlings have hit that pesky stage of their development where they’re starting to move around the nest box. Sometimes they can be pretty lively. This one in the (upper left corner of the nest box) has decided to play Magellan, to see what’s at the edge of the world…
Actually, it’s more likely the eyas just wants to sleep in the sun, but it does look like it’s exploring, doesn’t it?
You can expect the eyases to be more active now. Their downy feathers are thick enough that they don’t need Mariah or Kaver to provide warmth for them, and as long as the weather is good they won’t need to huddle together very much either. At the same time their legs are getting stronger, and even though they’re still crawling, they’ll be up and walking around before you know it.
As you can imagine, feeding time is a great motivator to get the eyases to move around. The two images at the left were taken only one minute apart, while Mariah was feeding the eyases. They’re a good illustration of the hatchlings’ mobility. The point is, you shouldn’t be surprised to see the nestlings spreading out in the nest box.
Don’t worry about them getting close to the edge of the box, either. Remember, thousands of years of evolution have prepared them for a life lived on the edges of cliffs. If one should take a tumble, there’s a catwalk just about 3 feet (1 meter) below the scrape, so any overly BASE-jumping eyases won’t get very far. We’ve never had an eyas fall out of our nest box, at least not at this early stage, so there’s likely no cause for concern with this year’s brood.
It’s getting pretty messy in the nest box. Too bad Mariah can’t get the nestlings to do a little cleaning, now that they’re getting more mobile!
May 23rd, 2007 at 1:36 PM
Awesome! Thank you for the update. They are getting so big. At first, I thought one was missing. Glad to see he wanted to explore a bit and get some sun.
May 23rd, 2007 at 1:47 PM
One of the eyases appears much smaller then the rest. Will this be a problem for this little one?
May 23rd, 2007 at 1:48 PM
Thanks for your reply Jess about the previous names of the babies. They are so funny to watch all sprawled out about their nest. A minute ago 3 of them were sleeping with their legs kicked out behind them…it’s pretty funny!!!!
May 24th, 2007 at 7:20 AM
Oh my goodness…too cute…the eyases look like they’re waking up in this picture…one’s having a good yawn! LOL Oh they’re too cute!
http://rfalconcam.com/gallery/processed/MainCamera/20070524//MainCamera_20070524-071902.jpg
May 24th, 2007 at 11:38 AM
Over the past two or three days, I’ve noticed that Mariah and Kaver visit the scrape between 11am and 1pm. Things get pretty busy in there. I’m saving a bunch of pictures and will probably put them into a PowerPoint show. Right now mom and dad are at the box. Looks like Kaver with the Eyases, and Mariah out on the pole. Thanks for the info about the Eyases not falling out. For the last hour I’ve only been able to count three of them.
May 24th, 2007 at 2:59 PM
Lol Gotta Love Them. 😉
May 24th, 2007 at 3:24 PM
Todd, I noticed an orange and white rod in cam 4 just outside the east side railing. The archive viewer shows it waving back and forth from about noon to 1PM. Maybe Mariah’s staying close to the babies because of that. Construction? Window washers?
May 30th, 2007 at 6:16 AM
With those black feathers growing around their eyes they look like little bandits…..
May 31st, 2007 at 3:53 PM
Following up on their curiosity of their world. What is the policy if one should fall to the ledge below? Would a human put him/her back in the box? Would it be left to the parents to figure out? Would it be left to nature to decide? Just wondering.
June 12th, 2007 at 7:14 AM
The parents would continue to care for it outside the box. That is what nature decides – no human interference necessary or desirable.