May 20, 2008 - Feedings and fights

It's been pretty quiet for Lucy's clan today. I still can't get over the amount of time she spends away from her nest. Even when it rains or the wind is gusting, she is nowhere to be found; Ricky isn't either. I have seen him on the nest guarding from time to time but not much. These two are much less hands on parents than Big Mama and Big Daddy are. On the other hand, they do have two more mouths to feed than Mama and Daddy do.



VIDEO!


Today Mama and Daddy had enough of the Blue Jay's. They got into a huge fight with one early this morning. It was so intense that it woke me up! I know that Mama will put up a good fight but until this morning, I had yet to see Big Daddy get his claws dirty. Today, both parents were full on brawling with this Blue Jay. They were fighting on the ground and in the air, all three of them were screaming and squawking at each other. Eventually, the pair chased the Jay into a neighbors yard. They must have been trying to hold their territory because neither of them came back for a good fifteen minutes. I was glad to see them both again, I always worry that something is going to happen to one of the parents. It seems like other birds have noticed Mama's nest. They fly by quite low, like they are checking things out. This happens several times a day now. I assume the Blue Jay got caught doing this and the fight ensued. Hopefully the Blue Jay learned his lesson!

Daddy guarding his nest from a near by branch