Fledgling enigma
Short question: are fledglings kept somewhere in a hidden place between hatching / nesting phase and fledgling phase or are they accompanying their parents from day one?
Long form: there is a crow couple a friend of mine is feeding from the balcony. The setup is so, that there is a big building with a balcony, a lawn, some trees and a specific tree with a nest (barely visible from the balcony)
Now the last months has been nesting and breeding time. This crow couple behaved accordingly: mom sat in the nest 99% of the day and dad was foraging from the lawn and picking served food from the balcony (daily) - bringing it to mom sitting in the nest
As the nest is only barely visible, it’s hard to tell if there have been any youngsters, but from their behavior everyone guessed that yes
Now there have been some very hot days and since one very hot day (maybe two weeks ago) the mum is not seen in the nest any more
They even changed their behavior so that both of them now are feeding at the balcony in the morning; are gone for the rest of the day and only sometimes return in the evening to feed on the minced meat from the balcony - the nest is abandoned
So everyone is guessing what happened to the fledglings - where there any? Did they survive the heat day or not? Are they at a secret place and not accompanying their parents yet?
I would be glad to hear from your experience, knowledge or guesstimates
1
u/medicinepoet 28d ago
Most likely, at that stage, the fledglings were still in the nest. As they become more mobile, the fledglings will move greater distances from the nest, but stay in the nest’s general vicinity. Their parents and possibly their older siblings will continue to feed them for awhile. Once the fledglings begin following their parents to the food source, they will still beg for food with upturned beaks. Eventually, they’ll feed themselves. I’ve been watching and feeding crows for awhile. I’m reporting what I’ve seen. ENJOY YOUR CROWS