New Life

Proud Father

Working Mom

(click to see creature in beak)

I saw one; I saw two!* I had begun to doubt the existence of new life, even questioning the nest--was it a phantom home? Even though I had seen Sunshine's beak tinged with white which led me to believe she had been eating her baby bird's mutes ie. their liquid waste, I still questioned. I had read and watched raven parents do this until the babies grow and mute volume increases to the point that the parents pick the mutes up and carry them off. All this is to keep the nest clean until the nestlings are able to position themselves at the edge of the nest to 'let go' as it were. When the nestlings are that big, I should be able to see them but not yet.

Yesterday, I had spent some time watching from the bushes with my binos but the Grogs patiently spent the same hours watching me watch them, preening themselves, changing positions, calling out. It was if the nest had nothing to do with them, until just before sunset last night. 

At last I saw one--the back of a head and beak raised in supplication. Only when Sunshine finally flew to the nest could I see it. Eureka! New life confirmed. The nest is cleverly hidden with only one angle barely visible and from this angle, most of the nest is behind a great fork of the eucalyptus tree with all its leaves and shadows.

Just prior to my 'vision,' Sunshine had been vigorously tearing up some creature difficult to identify--bird, rabbit or rodent, and putting choice bits in her throat pouch. She then took the rest of the carcass to an adjacent sycamore tree to cache. It's hard to find any cold storage in Southern California but the huge leaves of a sycamore are the best smart bet for a bit of shade near the Pacific. 

I had been questioning the wisdom of the Grog's move from cliff to eucalyptus tree. Their having the sycamore 'fridge' next door to their nest seems not just fortuitous. I think it might have been well-planned. With new life in the balance, the steady supply of fresh food is crucial. The tree fridge takes a little pressure off the parents, not only in their search for food but enables them to spend more time closer to home, guarding their young. This will be crucial with the Cooper's hawks so close. I have watched Grog avoid the hawks by flying within inches of the ground and maneuvering adroitly between the trees.

On the other hand, Arthur Grog seems a nonchalant father. Last night, while Sunshine was picking apart her kill, worrying about the next meal, Grog sat on the hill near me singing (well, like a soft cooing). Of course, he was in a lookout position for the nest. But I thought all he was missing was a fine cigar. 

*The other pink mouth was in the El Moro's nest.