Jordan Lake. First Nest. Dad Bard is hunting on the ground. I don’t know what he found. Most likely a small bird or small mammal. He took it to the nest. Watch the reaction of the three chicks as they see Dad coming in. Everybody piles in on Dad’s feet. He manages to stay up right. At the end you can tell by which way dad and two of the chicks are looking to the left who got whatever the food was. What a melee.
Haw River
TagMeal Delivery on the Way
Jordan Lake. First Nest. Mom Kate is headed for the nest. She is carrying what appears to be the remains of a carp. She and Bard are almost on a continuous loop: drop off a fish and go catch another fish and get back to the nest … the chicks are growing fast and demanding more fish!
Preening Time
Jordan Lake. The barn swallows and tree swallows shared the same branch this morning. Most of the birds are barn swallows – the ones with the orange tinted undersides. The birds with the brilliant white chests and chins are tree swallows. They were all working hard to make their feathers straight and clean before starting their feeding flights.
Wind-blown Kingbirds
Jordan Lake. The eastern kingbird is quite a striking flycatcher. The white striped end of its tail is a great field identification mark. I don’t know which the wind was bouncing harder: the kingbirds or my camera! The soft high-pitched chittering is from the kingbirds.
Who Wins the Fish?
Jordan Lake. First Nest. Dad Bard landed in the nest with a small fish. All 3 chicks were watching his feet. They knew where the fish was. Then there was a shoving match to see who would end up with the fish. It was Big Chick that won the fish. All three chicks are doing well. Arrows in first photo point to the 3 chicks.
Dance!
Jordan Lake. Some days, you just gotta, I mean you just really have to dare to dance on the point of a rock, says the red winged-black bird.
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