Another day in the life of Black Phoebes

Today is the third day that the Black Phoebe fledglings have been out of the nest. I found them, and an adult, several hundred feet from the nest site. This is consistent with my prior experience with this species--they stay near the nest the first day or so then move the fledglings further out on day 3. It is also my experience that the Black Phoebes move away so I have been unable to refind them after day 3 so this is likely the last time I will see (or at least know that they are the birds born here) these fledglings.

Unfortunately I only saw 2 fledglings so it is likely that one has already perished. This is consistent with information in Birds of North America (BNA) online which states, "1 to several young often disappear during first 3 d after fledging." BNA also notes that the family moves away after day 3. The fledglings were demonstrating strong flight skills today and had flown across to the other side of the river, which is about 100 feet. The parent and fledglings were all calling fairly frequently (presumably the fledglings were calling to communicate their hunger and the parent may return calls to keep contact or give instructions to avoid the human with the big eye, as I imagine my camera lens appears to them). The fledglings were keeping to the overhanging vegetation and flew away after I took 2 photos.

Interestingly I saw an adult Black Phoebe a quarter mile away. I don't think it was the parent that was attending the fledglings since that bird was very busy feeding them, and they were all still in the same area when I walked back. Maybe one of the parents was taking a break from parental duties. SeEtta

The Black Phoebes have fledged

Here are the fledgling Black Phoebes from the nest in the previous post. They fledged day before yesterday. The parent(s) brought them to the tree closest to the nest as I have observed during prior nestings. This tree is only about 100 feet from the nest but is a great tree for hiding new fledglings as it has many branches overhanging the river below. I saw all three fledglings but was unable to get a pic with all of them together. Actually they were again a challenge to photograph as they were perched on the overhanging branches with lots of other branches in between. At least one parent was attending them and I watched as one was fed. The brown edging indicative of immature Black Phoebes is quite evident in these pics as is the orangish gape. Their tarsi (legs) are in between the orange of hatchlings and the brownish-black of adult birds. The same is true of the toes which are turning from the yellow found on hatchlings towards the brownish black found on adults. Juvenile Black Phoebes are a darker black than adults, which is reflected in both pics. Otherwise they look like adult birds with blackish upperparts and white underparts. The fledglings were making calls similar to adult, presumably the "tsip" calls identified in Birds of North Americaonline. SeEtta