Rain and Shine

Two days ago it was torrential rain. Today it was brilliant sunshine. This male Tawny Frogmouth sat on his nest all that day covering his three chicks from the wet, with only their tails sticking out. The usual brood size for these birds is one or two, so it was bit of a squeeze under there to keep dry. Meanwhile the rain pattered off his head and back, dripped from their tails and beaded on dad's back.

Today was much brighter and dry, very dry. The youngest chick was still sticking close to its father, although he was on the nest the chicks were all out.

The oldest chick had well and truly fledged. That one was up high in the next tree hiding very well, with mum close by. This youngster was probably a week or more older than the youngest one, and this is only the second brood of three chicks fledged this year in my study area in Canberra.

These birds might seem tricky, or easy, to see when the camera has framed them, but when viewed at a wider setting, there is a more realistic impression of how well these birds can hide.

Often a view down on a nest or brood can make it a little easier to find them, but I always admire them when I do find them. They are just so good at what they do, hide and sit quietly all day, waiting for night when the woods become theirs again.

Fully-fledged Frogmouths

Two well-grown frogmouth fledglings with their father on the right

On the 18th October this year I posted a feature on the first brood of Tawny Frogmouths to fledge in my study area, in Canberra. They left the nest on the 15th, and last weekend when they were six weeks old, they were fully-fledged, well almost. Compare the recent image above with that below of the same brood last month.

The youngsters now have fully-grown tail feathers, and in these pictures it can be seen how the young birds have rounded tips to these, while those of the adults are pointed. This is a common feature in birds.

Also, the young birds' under-tail coverts are still downy and white, while the adult's coverts are stiffer feathers and coloured for camouflage.

The same three birds on the 15th October - six weeks previously

Six weeks ago the young birds were only just out of the nest and still downy. Although they had well-enough developed flight feathers to flutter between trees for safety and to follow their parents around as they hunted.

The downy newly-fledged chicks 

The chicks have now lost most of their downy feathers, but a few still hung around their faces, giving the birds that still-young appearance. They could be dependent on their adults for another month yet and stay with them for longer, into the autumn or even stay with them till the next breeding season.

So at what stage can they be considered as having fledged? Well, for my study, I use the day they leave the nest as that is the only figure I can count for every breeding attempt. Many of the birds disappear into the woods after that. This is standard procedure to describe birds that have left the nest. Other birds which I study, such as Golden eagles, fledge at about twelve weeks old, but stay with their parents for another three months.

Soft downy face feathers

As is usual, it was the male who perched close to the young birds. He is larger and can give more protection against predators. The female was perched on an adjacent branch of the same tree, ready to fly in and help if any danger did approach.

The adult female