 First Flight: Nestlings to Fledglings
Phoebe nestlings covered in down with feathers beginning to come in. How many nestlings do you see?
Imagine launching yourself into the air for the first time from the edge of a nest. Do your toes grip tightly just before the leap? Is there a last flapping of wings with the thought, "Are they strong enough?" Or, do you leap with abandon called by a deep instinct, and an internal cry to, "Jump and fly!" Or, is it the pleading of your winged parents and their admonishment, "It is time for you to catch your own food" that gets you up and out of the cozy nest?
I've been watching a nest of phoebes over many weeks. Their very dutiful parents have moved from the honeymoon stage of courtship, to nest building, to sitting the eggs, to a now very intense feeding schedule. One sits the nest, or on watch near the nest, while the other hunts for insects. Once the hunter is back there is an immediate changing of the guard. The nest sitter flies out, leaving the hunter to choose which gaping mouth to feed. The pair rarely get a break. It is only when the nestlings bellies are full, and they stop gaping for food and fall asleep, that the parents get a brief respite from the feeding schedule, and few moments to sit side by side, or get a sip of water, before starting the food flights again.
The nestlings will be on their way to fledglings when they've more feathers than down, and they've started exercising their wings in the nest. Shortly after, they will make that first leap. I'm hoping to watch first flight from a window that overlooks the nest, but I know that it is unlikely that I will get to see that first leap. But I'll keep watching their progress, like a proud auntie, as they hop about the ground and continue to learn to fly as they build strength as their wings more fully develop. And, I'll wish them good journey when they head out to explore the woodland edges, and hope that we see each other again when I too head to the woodlands to explore.
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