The chick hatched yesterday evening at around 7.42, but I missed it by 10 minutes or so. This morning, I was able to watch the chick for a minute or so, then the unthinkable happened.
Tom arrived at the nest, shortly after Angel left, and looked very confused when he saw this little thing in the egg cup. I will give here my thoughts (my personal interpretation) - viewers who have different ideas can express them in the comments area as long as the tone is friendly and polite.
I couldn't see clearly what Tom was doing (I also recorded from the long range camera), but I think that, being so young and a first time dad, he did not understand what he was looking at. He must have thought that something alien was in the egg cup and eventually dragged the creature to the side, causing its death in the process.
Angel returned and, seeing her chick there, started vocalising in a pitiful manner - some of her cries must have been heard by Tom (not sure how far he flew from the nest). She carried on for a while - very distressing to listen to her.
Not knowing much about hawks (and what level of intelligence they have), I was in doubt about the reason for her upset - did she realise the chick was dead, or was it because it had been dragged out of the bowl? The fact that she later went hunting and came back with a prey, which she left by the egg cup, made me suspect she did not immediately realise the chick was dead (also because of what Tom did - I will get to it shortly).
She left the nest and Tom took over. After some hesitation, he picked the dead chick by the wing, placed it in the egg cup and brooded it with the unhatched egg. Had instinct suddenly kicked in? Had Angel's cries made him realise that the little thing belonged to the egg cup?
He was still brooding two hours later, when Angel returned with food.
*** Editing to add: I now know that, while Angel vocalised, Tom was perched on a branch of the nest tree, so he could hear Angel very well (I have just checked the footage from the long range camera).
Not included in the video: Angel removed the chick from the nest in the early afternoon, and a little later Tom brought an opossum, which Angel consumed elsewhere.
There's a glimmer of hope as some pipping is seen on the remaining egg.
We must accept what happened and remember that Tom is a young and inexperienced hawk.
The brief section (just over a minute) showing the live chick (I have cropped the screen to enlarge the images), is accompanied by soft instrumental music - turn the volume off if not appreciated (the live stream was virtually silent, during that time).
For those who don't know the live stream and have not watched my previous videos, the male has only just become an adult (3 years of age). He was with Angel last year, but there were no chicks as he was too young to reproduce.
For more information, read the description below the live stream, provided by Window to Wildlife (the same society who features the ospreys and the eagles at Captiva Island, Florida.
The names for the hawks are assigned by the landowner's grandson - for instance, Tom is short for Tomahawk :)
Link to the live stream: www.youtube.co....
Link to the long range PTZ camera: www.youtube.co....
Music by kind courtesy of Roberto Zeolla @RobertoZeollaOfficial
Track featured in this video: Excerpt from You Raise Me Up (Secret Garden) - Roberto Zeolla on Yamaha Genos
• YOU RAISE ME UP (SECRE...
INFORMATION FOR NEW VISITORS TO THE LUCEFORALL CHANNEL: Please note that this is an entertainment channel, even though you can still learn something about the eagles/hawks/falcons and I am always happy to share whatever information I gather along the way. I often make up little stories to amuse viewers and friends and, on occasions, I use instrumental music as background, so it is not suited to everybody. If your interest in eagles etc is more professional, there are other channels to follow, on RU-vid. This small channel wants to be a little oasis, a refuge, and I wish to promote a positive atmosphere. I will gladly accept constructive criticism, expressed in polite and friendly terms, but I will remove any insulting or rude remarks. Thank you for understanding.
28 апр 2023
