Nest #6529

Adult Arrival

Look for 2 adults on the nest. The adult pair will show pair bonding behaviors such as vocalizations, aerial sky dances, and the male feeding the female fish. You may see the pair copulating, which typically begins 14 days before laying eggs.

Incubation Initiation

Females will lay 1 - 4 eggs at a rate of one egg every 1 - 2 days. After laying, incubation starts. Look for adults taking turns sitting low in the nest incubating eggs. The incubation period can last 35 - 43 days.

Clutch Hatching

Chicks hatch ~39 days after incubation begins. Look for adults bringing food to the nest and making "head bows" into the center. Chicks typically can't be seen until they are 2 - 3 weeks old, so feeding behavior is the only way to know chicks are there.

Nestling Count

Around 4 weeks after hatching, look for the heads of chicks to show over the rim of the nest, particularly when adults bring food to the nest. Other times they lie flat and are harder to see. Count the number of chicks in the nest before they learn to fly

Fledgling Count

Chicks begin flying around 7 - 8 weeks old, and are still fed by the adults. Count the number of chicks who have successfully fledged the nest and are observed flying.

Chick Last Observed

4 - 10 weeks after fledging, chicks begin leaving the nest area to migrate south, once they have learned to fly and feed themselves. Record the date that the last chick left the nest.

Nest Failure

Look for signs of nest failure like adult abandonment, adults no longer incubating eggs or feeding young.

Previous Next

	2016 - CruiserGuy
aAdult Arrival
aOccupied	Yes
aActive
bEgg Laying
bIncubation Initiation
cClutch Hatching
dNestlings	2
eFledglings	2
eFirst Chick Fledging
fChicks Last Observed	7/25/16
xNest Failure
xReason For Nest Failure

Adult arrival		Nestlings	2
Nest Occupied	Yes	Fledglings	2
Nest Active		First chick fledging
Egg laying		Chicks last observed	07/25/2016
Incubation initiation		Nest failure
Clutch hatching		Reason for nest failure

Photos of this nest

Nesting Diaries

07/25/2016 by CruiserGuy

My company maintains a weather station on this site and so, must contend with the annual nesting (as we do throughout the coastal US). The landowner of the old Stage Harbor light provides intel for us and the nest appears to be a perennial success. Photo provided was last encounter with a nesting family in 2012.