Psilos Bird Journal
Monday May 19th 2008
     
Grey wagtails - "We are family 3" (page 2)
 
Once again I found myself in the bottom of that cold river lying on the concrete ledge watching the juveniles. I took my time as I did not want to spook them but they did not seem too concerned by my presense (indeed why should they) and as long as the parents didnt become alarmed and move them I would be ok.
     

     
 


One juvenile was sitting on the overflow right by my ledge and I could easily get within fifteen feet of him. The other was sitting on a moss covered stone on the other side of the river.
Watching the adults collecting food it became apparent just how hard their job is once the fledglings have left the nest. Two juveniles were together but one had become seperated and was in a tree up river. I never saw more than three chicks and as I never saw them actually fledge I cannot say with any certainty how many there were in total. Feeding them though certainly seemed to come down to which baby could beg the hardest. The chick in the photo above certainly got more than his fair share and it really made you want to shout at the other one and tell him to learn to shout louder!
 
 
 
 
 
 
Two hours I had with the juveniles before they eventually moved so far down river that I could no longer follow them. Further down the river was steep sided and narrow and I did not feel up to chasing them. Luck would still be on my side though. As I returned to my car I looked over the wall and there the two were being fed by mum. It would be a shot from high above but it would be the last I saw of them so in my view was worth it.
The other juvenile was still along way up the other end of the river and I had no idea how the parents would look after them overnight. They were all now out in the big wide world and the odds were that I would never see them again. Following them had been a wonderful experience. I was so glad they had made it this far. It was still going to be tough as there are many dangers out there but I wished them all the luck in the world.