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Additional videos not shown on the site can be found at the Forum here. The
videos are in Windows WMV format and optimised for broadband. |
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Diary
Entry |
May 2007
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Click to
Watch |
The 6th Egg is Laid |
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| Two Feeds and Some Eggs The female (who we thought was beginning incubation) receives two feeds from the male and then exposes her six eggs. |
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| The Male Tries to Feed the Eggs Yes, he back again with another one of his moments, here he tries to feed his as yet unborn offspring |
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| Clickety Click It appears that the female starts her 7th egg labour whilst asleep. As her body moves up and down it suggests that her heart rate is around 128bpm. |
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| Morning Meals Breakfast in bed is served and here is one large meal, and one long meal. |
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| Where is She? The male again looks confused, food is with him, but she is not |
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| Serving through the Hatch The female accepts food through the serving hatch, and the male is forced to wiggle out |
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| Yummy! The female consumes a rather large Caterpillar right by the glass wall. |
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| The 8th Egg Arrives The final egg of the season is laid, again quite quickly, and we get the best view yet as the female goes through the motions. |
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| Big Meal The female has to really work at consuming this Caterpillar! |
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| Nest Cup Diving The female demonstrates her head down, tail up technique to turn the eggs. |
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| Cover those Eggs! The female on her second day of incubating is getting rather lapse about covering the eggs, although she appears to be trying to do so. |
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| Impatient Female Poor thing, she has to wait just under 2 minutes before the waiter turns up - and then like buses two arrive in quick succession. |
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| 5th Time Lucky The male has a few problems bringing in food, he gets there in the end, but it takes a few attempts. |
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Nearly Stuck |
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| Chomp She sits, she waits, she hears and welcomes him with an open beak. |
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| Boredom or Hunger? The female shoots out of the nest and looks out, was she bored, or was she just getting a little hungry again? |
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| Three Feeds Listen out for clicking sounds ... we begin to wonder if these don't also come from the eggs sometimes - is she moving them with her feet? |
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Confusion |
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Preening, Checking
and Pecking |
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| Looking Out Sometimes it's just nice to stand at the window and take the world in ... |
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The Double Feed |
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The
Male and his Eyesight |
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Incubating |
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In and Out (parts
1 and 2) Part 2 shows what really went on inside. She was home and warming the eggs, but still he felt compelled to make several trips out, and then back in before the food was all consumed. Was he scared of her? |
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Pecking |
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| The Last Feed The male wasn't quite up to his usual standard on this day, and his last food delivery was at 5.06pm, which really isn't on. |
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| It's Raining Not having had a downpour like this for a while, it was interesting to see that it didn't affect the female despite the fact that it sounded quite loud in the box - in the early hours of the day. |
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Making Him Work |
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| Stretch and Peck Time spent in the cup means little exercise. Sometimes you just have to get up and have a stretch ... and a peck ... just to alleviate the boredom. |
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| Waiting (for a
Caterpillar) The female learns that if she just looks out of the hole for long enough, a surprise Caterpillar might just appear around the corner. |
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| I Have Food Looking more confused than ever, the male checks inside and out, watches himself in the glass wall and offers a meal to the eggs. |
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Males
Flap their Wings Too |
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| Have they Hatched Yet? An expectant and impatient father to be visits the eggs. |
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| Four Feeds The male makes a quick succession of four feeds to keep the female going for the night ahead. |
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| The First Egg Hatches The male is in the box at the hole, and oblivious that the first egg is hatching behind him! (It's worth reading the diary entry for the day with this one). |
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| The First Shell is Eaten Minutes after breaking free, the female eats the shell of her first chick. |
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| 50 Minutes Old Still a little young (!) the male tries to feed the first chick. |
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| Interested in Food Yet? The male brings food and the female tries to tempt the chick. |
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| The Male Feeds the First Chick Showing the female a thing or two, he does it in style. |
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| One and One Settle Down At the end of the first day of hatching still only one has broken free. Here the lights go down as they settle for the night. |
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| The Second Shell Mum discovers the 2nd shell at 3.52am and later eats it at 5.20am. |
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| Two for Breakfast Food is offered, but it doesn't look they are interested. |
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| Man Food The male successfully feeds a chick, and when the female enters with more, he really would like her to give to him! |
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| Chick Overboard! The female anticipates a food delivery and excitedly moves out of the nest cup unknowingly dragging a chick out at the same time. She doesn't help it, and it takes the little one four minutes to find its way back. |
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| The Third Egg Hatches Egg number three hatches in front of the male, mum eats the shell and then the male returns with more food for the family. |
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| The First Chirps The chicks (or maybe just one) are starting make soft chirping noises. |
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| Fishing with Food The male tries to tempt two chicks by dangling a Caterpillar above them. |
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| Three Chicks in the Nest Three have hatched, five to hopefully go. This video shows how they were over a 2 minute period that afternoon. |
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| Different Styles The male uses the silent approach, and the female uses the 'chirp method' to raise beaks at feeding time. |
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| Chick Number Four Has Arrived Egg number four has hatched and mum eats the shell whilst a confused male hangs outside. Then he comes in with a feed. |
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| A Joke Meal The male enters, offers the female food and then quickly leaves without giving it to her ... she looks a little confused. |
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| The Male Feeds ... and Gets Fed The male feeds a chick, which in turn upends itself. The male removes the faecal sac, but eats it himself! |
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| Help! I'm Getting Squashed A chick looks as if it has a rough time when mum sorts the nest. |
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| Anyone for a Spider? Well ... would you eat a Spider? |
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| Mum and Dad Feed Both parents feed the chicks. |
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| The Male Delivers - Splitting Food The male delivers another round of food, and the parents split it to feed. |
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| Long Meal The male shows how it should be done, and perseveres with what must be the longest meal to date. |
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| That Caterpillar is Mine! The female isn't really trying to feed the chicks and eats a Caterpillar herself. |
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| Good Feeding After two days where the female just isn't interested in feeding her young, she comes back to life and all is well. |
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| Chick Number 4 Gets Fed Up It's the smallest of the family, but this time it holds its head up and gets a good meal. |
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| Four Feeds in Three Minutes ...Exactly what the title says! |
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| Four Chicks Huddle Together The chicks huddle together between feeds, and the one in the middle quite definitely shows it's the oldest. |
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| Nest Chores Make way for mum, she's got some food and she really needs to get on with the chores again! |
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| Skyward Meals From the side camera - see those beaks raise themselves skyward as the chicks fight for food. |
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| Breakfast at Dawn The first meal of the day arrives at 5.19am. |
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Tails and Food |
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| Down the Hatch Mealworms again, but this time mum and dad have a little tussle over the first one and three get delivered altogether. |
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| Getting on Top of Mum Mum really does keep herself busy working on the sides of the nest, and late one afternoon the chicks had no choice but to move outwards, and on top of mum to make way. |
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| Movements in the Night Mum doesn't get much rest at night with four wriggling chicks under her. |
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| Hide and Seek Some of the outside of the nest folds over and the parents momentarily find themselves without any beaks to feed. |
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| Food Removal The male brings in a large Peanut for the chicks, and the female promptly snatches it back and removes it from the box. |
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| Life in the Nest This video is just over 5 minutes long and gives a good idea what life is like in the nest, especially when mealworms have just been put out. |
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| Out for a Walk For the first time a chick is seen to get out of the nest and go rambling. |
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| Itchy and Scratchy If you're growing feathers, it gets a bit itchy! |
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| Wing Flapping Older brothers (or sisters?) can suddenly get in a flap, and when wing testing starts, anybody can can get a feather in the face. |
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| Life in the Nest - part 2 If the chicks have to keep their heads down when wings start flapping, see just what they have to put up with when mum gets going with the leg work. |
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| Number Four Tucks In It's smaller than the rest, and at last it gets a juicy mealworm. |
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| Faecal Sacs The chicks produce far larger faecal sacs for the parents now, and sometimes the upending of a chick can be quite spectacular. |
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| Chatter Boxes Four chicks huddled in the nest have conversations, and the smallest seems to be the last one to settle down again. |
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| Life in the Nest - part
3 We worry about them not getting enough food, and then sometimes there is so much about that the chicks look as if they've had enough. A meal not taken is a bonus for an adult, but a times it can a little mad in there: |
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