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The first European Buzzard egg has piped. I should have one hatching every 3 days or so. Once the chicks are stong enough iI wll plce them back with the parents. The parents can raise 6 to 8 young at different ages. The only restriction is that younger chicks have to be old enough to move out of the way of the older chicks. I.E. the first chick is placed with the parents which are sitting on a dummy egg when it is 2 or 3 days old. The last chick I.E #8 is put with the parents and other chicks when it is 12 days old. Imprintig appears to be delayed when a silhouette like a human is feeding the chick. Once they are placed with the parents, these older chicks ( I've waited as long as 18 days) imprint on their parent bird within 24 hours and will cower away from a human as if they were raised by their parents from day one. Yes, at first the youngest chick may be offered a piece of food that is too big; but the parents soon adapt and feed the younger, smaller chicks appropriately sized food pirces. I once had a pair of Harris Hawks raise 15 young all different ages.

posted by David Mancini on 11:32 AM

The cold winter seems to have helped somehow. One pair of Augur Buzzards have laid their first egg. The European Buzzards have 6 fertile eggs cooking and the Lanners have laid a second clutch which I am letting them keep. The Tawny Owls laid at least 3 eggs so far and the Mottled Owls only laid one egg in their first clutch. My big Harrises have laid 5 eggs so far with the second pair close behind. I also have a third pair sitting on a clutch. All eggs have very good shells which happens after a cold winter-just an observation, I don't know why. A cold winter also seems to concetrate courtship.

posted by David Mancini on 9:45 PM

The weather has been great the past week and the birds are in full courtship.

The Lanners laid 4 eggs last month-3 are fertile-and the first one hatched today. These were put in an incubator after 8 days of natural incubation. They are curently sitting on a second clutch.

The pied Crows were seen copulating and building a nest.

The Common (European) Buzzards laid there second egg today and both are in an incubator.

Harriette, the giant Harris laid her first egg today.

The Barn owls appear to be incubating or close to laying their first egg.

posted by David Mancini on 4:15 PM

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