This morning I was pleased to see that at least 3 of the young Merlins were out of the nest and in nearby trees. Both adults were present and actively bringing food. The adults perched in full view at very close range. The female delivered food to one of the young on an exposed branch, resulting in much wing flapping and vocalizing. The young are very hard to see unless an adult delivers food, which might take a while.
Assuming 1) fledging occurs at 29 days, 2) incubation takes 30 (28-32) days, 3)egg laying takes about 6 days (4 eggs), then first egg laid April 28, incubation began May 3, eggs hatched June 4. If you go to search for the young and the adults seem agitated (calling steadily and perching close to you), you are probably too close to the young and need to back off. I found this out today and left the vicinity immediately. Jim Eagan, MN ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
