Our 3 little mockers were born on May 15, 2011 after approximately 11 days of incubation. Incubation was not constant, the mother was out of the nest as much as in the nest. Mom clearly responsible for incubation, and dad clearly responsible for building the nest. The mother and father mockers changed their habits and became very quiet once the eggs were laid No singing and very cautious to not draw attention to the nest. By the time the eggs were laid they had pretty much made their territory known to anything that bothered them, and the backyard has been clear of any threats. God forbid a threat should occur, aggressive little monsters they are! Feeding the first two days was morning and evening, about 3-4 hours each feed. The babies seemed to be sleeping all afternoon. By the third day the feedings became nonstop. Both mother and father feed all day long, taking only minutes to go retrieve food (looks like worms). The parents work fantastic together and really are a very good team. It only takes a sec to drop a worm in the mouth but I wonder how they keep track who's turn it is especially when two parents are doing it? I guess I will never know that. It looks exhausting to me. Funny how nature mimics real life in so many ways, these parents are impressive. Today the nestlings are 6 days old and haven't left the nest. Everytime I peek in, I see just wide open mouths. The mother will squawk at me if she see's me too close. I try to peek in when I see them gone but generally I get caught, and yesterday I got a good scare! She came up behind me silently and squawked as loud she could what seemed a foot from my head. I screamed bloody murder and nearly tripped and fell down running away. This makes it very hard to get a photo to say the least, rushing and fearing an attack in the back of your mind at any moment. Also making it difficult, the nest is eye level, securely hidden inside the hibiscus tree, not visible from the outside, and the nestlings are the same color as the nest except their wide open mouths. Not to mention, my husband (aka goody two shoes) lectures me like I am this awful person for being curious about nature and gawking now and then. Gosh, one would think I am entitled a simple picture considering they installed their nest right on the pools edge and we have pretty much relinquished our rights of use for 3 weeks now!
*bringing food to nestlings, dad above pic, mom below pic
more pictures of parents bringing food back to nestlings found on my flickr account
here.
Surprise, surprise, I was wrong, there are 4 nestlings not 3. When I took the picture of the eggs, I saw only 3, so, either I just couldn't see one or all the eggs were not laid when I took the picture. But looking back at that pic, I now see there is a little spot almost waiting for that 4th egg. Look at their little feathers forming. Over the next 2-3 days we expect them to leave the nest where they will then learn to fly and feed on their own under the supervision and care of their parents who still will feed them. They are getting big and barely fit in the nest anymore. Mom and Dad look thin from all the flying back and forth to feed which goes on nonstop all day long. It is exhaustive to watch. In the picture above the little guys are reacting to a stranger, mouths are shut and they are in a down position. In the pic below (taken on day 8), the little guys don't sense I am a stranger as the pic is taken farther away and I am unnoticed.
