I got a chance to peek back in the egg and chick part of the operation today. Blake had just fed the Alala chicks and told me they were sleeping. So, I followed him back there, tiptoeing into the back room which opens into four small aviaries, open to the air via mosquito netting. Five little ugly crow chicks were snoozing in the sun, each in their own plastic tub lined with sticks. They all had a mixture of feathers and pins, and their little backs rose and fell as they breathed. Occasionally, their featherless wings or feet twitched, just like when a dog dreams. I wonder if they were dreaming about flying and perching?
Lilinoe, the adult female who can no longer have chicks, is housed next to the chicks' aviary, at this time of year, to afford the chicks an example of a real crow adult (as opposed to the humans who come dressed in black sheets and hoods for feeding times, in order to prevent imprinting). Lilinoe can see the chicks and talk to them, but can't get to them. When she saw us humans peeking in on the brood, she hopped over importantly and began alarm calling, obviously letting us know that we had been spotted. She wasn't going to let us get away with sneaking in and out. The chicks stirred, one made a sleepy little begging sound, but they all kept on sleeping, for all the world like preschoolers at their afternoon nap. I wouldn't want to be the adult in charge when that group woke up, refreshed and ready for trouble...
Lilinoe, the adult female who can no longer have chicks, is housed next to the chicks' aviary, at this time of year, to afford the chicks an example of a real crow adult (as opposed to the humans who come dressed in black sheets and hoods for feeding times, in order to prevent imprinting). Lilinoe can see the chicks and talk to them, but can't get to them. When she saw us humans peeking in on the brood, she hopped over importantly and began alarm calling, obviously letting us know that we had been spotted. She wasn't going to let us get away with sneaking in and out. The chicks stirred, one made a sleepy little begging sound, but they all kept on sleeping, for all the world like preschoolers at their afternoon nap. I wouldn't want to be the adult in charge when that group woke up, refreshed and ready for trouble...