We arrived one morning to find some splashes of white on the outside of the nest.
A good sign.
Once the young begin to move about, they back down the hole and eject out of the nest. Nice to have a clean home.
But getting a glimpse of the young was much more difficult.
Over the next week or so we were able to get to see one poking its head around the corner to accept a meal. But most times the wing position of the adult hid them from view, and the head only came out far enough to grab the meal and then very quickly retreat.
Also the weather didn’t help us a lot, as it was mostly overcast to porridge sorts of days. Add that to the thick canopy cover, and camera settings became less than ideal.
The parents were now in high food finding and delivery mode, so every few minutes a new offering would arrive. Out would pop a tiny beak, and the food was gone.
Looking at the results on screen later, it was interesting to see how over the days the feather changes began to take effect. First they were rather grey with some white, then little streaks of white down began to disappear, and some facial colouring of buff orange and grey were noticable.
We managed to return about every second morning. So were in high spirits one morning as we arrived.
There were no adults about, so we waited.
After about 20 minutes there was no sign anywhere near the nest.
So, 45 minutes, and then an hour and still no adults.
Had they lost the clutch to a disaster over the past couple of days?
Or
Had they flown the young, and if so where were they, and how many?
We widened our search down the forest.
Here are some glimpses.
Enjoy
Birds as Poetry —— Just because I WANDER doesn't mean I'm LOST 
Amazing captures as usual David ! So lovely to look into the nesting hole and catch the face of the nestling. The aqua plumage is beautiful on these birds. A lot of waiting, it often means they have fledged, but often they are sitting nearby the nest on a branch airing their wings and getting use to the outside world. Interesting they have left completely so soon. We have been surprised with the same situation ourselves with other species we have watched nest. Hope the weather improves, though winter is around the corner. My wife has injured her foot and on crutches, so birding may be on hold for us for a couple of months possibly. Enjoy the rest of the week.
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Hi Ashsley, its hard to really know how much time we put in with these birds. In the end, we were back just about every day. Started early light as it was the best in the low lying area, and then out by early afternoon. We did have a good spot nearby to take a break for a -well deserved- cuppa.
I’m always impessed with the fledged of Kingfisher and Bee-eater, as they come out of the nest and really are quite capable little aeronauts, given they’ve not really seen the outside world before their first flight.
A previous year’s clutch had the young staying together so they were a bit easy to find. Different strokes… these ones were seperate from the first day.
Sorry to hear about the patient. Can really sympathise as EE has also thrown a fet-lock and is confined to resting for without putting pressure on the foot. We haven’t been out in the field for more than two weeks, and while seeing small improvements its not a short term solution so it seems.
Joys of getting older.
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The art of the gradual reveal! A beautiful series of shots as you (and we) see a little bit more of the chicks as they develop.
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Hello Eleanor, thanks for dropping by.
Because of the placement of the hole, alongside the overgrown area, there were only a few angles that allowed a view of the entrance, and most times the feeding adult managed to hide the proceedings. The young are so quick.Made lots of shots of the ’empty’ hole as it was far too quick as the beak darted out and then in.
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A fine and fascinating series of images, David!
Wonderful to see the glimpses of the young as they take their meals!
I look forward to seeing further developments!
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Hi Dave, They make working with Hobbys seem like a very easy thing to do. Didn’t have much chance to get more than a head shot on the best of days.
Things did change once they flew
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