Yet another Virginia Rail hatchling pic

I stopped at the wetland this morning to see if I could get a better pic of the Sora hatchlings. Not a chance as I didn't even get a glimpse of them today. In fact, I gave up after one of adults wouldn't stop calling. Though I have been successful in making myself unobtrusive to the Virginia Rails and previously to the Soras, apparently this Sora was having none of it unless I moved so far from the wetland that I couldn't look for the hatchlings.Though the calls appeared to be the "peep" call that is used to maintain contact between a pair of Soras, I didn't want to take any chances that I was disturbing them especially after I read that a parent continues brooding them. The hatchlings may be sensitive to the temperature and today is predicted to be around 100 so I believe it would be most unethical to keep the parent from protecting them or from possibly still incubating unhatched eggs.

So I went to the other side of the wetlands where I have been watching the Virginia Rail and got this pic of a hatchling. This pic shows off how the dark band on the bill expand, eventually causing the entire bill to turn black. I did notice that there is some variance among the hatchlings on this progression with some showing less extensiveness of this black band.

I was delighted to watch a parent feeding with 2 hatchlings following closely (I did see 2 others slinking in the thicker vegetation and following at a more removed distance). The adult would jab with it's bill into the vegetation and the 2 hatchlings would quickly jab there also. Clearly the adult demonstrates how and what to forage for during these forays. I also heard some soft hatchling calls for the first time.
SeEtta

And Sora hatchlings too!

While following up on the Virginia Rail hatchlings, I looked for the Soras that I hear calling every time I am at the wetlands where these are found. Not only did I see at least one adult Sora but I spotted at least 3-4 Sora hatchlings. They were huddled together on top of some foilage about 20 feet into the wetland vegetation. As I was about 35 feet from them I couldn't quite see just how many there were. They appeared even a little smaller than the Virginia Rail hatchlings were when I first saw them (and when they were probably less than 7 days old).I wasn't able to get a better pic due to all the vegetation that was hanging in between, especially since there was a good breeze and the leaves were moving across the opening in which I was watching these hatchlings. However it is possible to see a small black body with some orange around it's yellowish beak. Birds of North America (BNA) online states, "Covered with thick, glossy black down, with tuft of orange bristles beneath chin." It further says that their bill is yellow with a reddish base. A little more detail can be seen by double-clicking on the pic to enlarge it (though the clarity diminishes).

I only got to watch these hatchlings briefly as a parent that was patrolling near them gave some alarm calls and they retreated into the thicker vegetation. BNA says that the chicks don't usually start leaving the nest until 3-4 days old in one section then in a subsequent section cites literature indicating that they start leaving the nest at 2-3 days old "to feed nearby" (parents still give them food for 2-3 weeks but apparently they begin feeding themselves then). Interestingly it also says that hatchlings are brooded near the nest by a parent for the first 4-7 days, and that they may brood them in the water. This may be done while the other parent continues to incubate unhatched eggs. Since they usually lay 8-11 eggs, the other parent may still be on the nest.

While I was watching, a commercial jet plane flew fairly close overhead, making a lot of jet noise. The Soras made their whinny call during this disruption and I thought that they might be giving an alarm call in response to the airplane noise (I was standing still and hidden by a tree so I don't think they were calling relative to my presence at this time, though they did when I moved about the area). And BNA notes that this species does call in response to loud noises

A few more Virginia Rail pics

Here are a few more Virginia Rail hatchling pics. The top pic shows two hatchlings feeding near each other. The bottom pic shows one of the parent rails feeding with a hatchling. The color of the parent's plumage is distorted from the editing I had to do to lighten the photo as they were in the shadows.

SeEtta

Additional Virginia Rail hatchling pics & into

It was really neat to watch the hatchlings as they not only followed but were able to keep up with the parent bird today. And today the hatchlings were feeding themselves alongside the parent bird instead of being fed. This also fits with their being around 2 weeks old as Birds of North America (BNA) online says that by 7 days old they can feed on their own. It also that they are able to probe at 14 days and they engaged in probing into the vegetative matter just as the parent rail did.

The top pic shows the bill which is lengthening and transitioning to black from it's pinkish (though it still looks different in the photo than the more blackish appearance in my binoculars), as the black band around the bill expands with age. The bottom pic shows the increased size of the black band even clearer especially if double-clicked to enlarge it. The increase in length was very noticeable to me. Now the bill is starting to look more like an adult's. Interestingly this pic seems to show a bare spot on the crown, a characteristic described in BNA.

More fun with rails (Virginia and Sora)

So I returned again this morning in hopes of getting some better pics of the hatchlings. The parents were not as vocal this morning as they had been during my prior visits when they would give frequent contact and alarm calls. The parents were also less active and I was beginning to wonder if I would even see them. However my patience was well rewarded as I saw at least 2 adult and at least 2 hatchling Virginia Rails (see later post re: Soras).The hatchlings are larger than when I first saw them on August 1. As can be seen in these pics, they still have their black fuzzy natal down. The fuzziness is quite visible in the lower pic as are the blackish legs that are characteristic of hatchlings. The top pic clearly shows that this hatchling still has a black iris, a characteristic of Virginia Rails until their third week when they turn dark olive according to Birds of North America (BNA) online. BNA also says that juvenal plumage begins around 2-2.5 weeks old and if it has started it isn't obvious yet. Given this and my first sighting of them, I feel reasonable comfortable aging these hatchlings as around 2 weeks old especially More on them in the next post.
SeEtta

I've spent some more time with the Virginia Rails in the private wetlands that I have been following. These pics show off the flight feathers as the bird stretches. I saw the hatchling Virginia Rails more and can say with some certainty that there are at least 4 black downy hatchlings. This time I was able to discern that their bills had a pinkish tint and a black band around them. However, I was unable to get reasonable pics as they scurried (like in run fast on short legs) across any openings in the vegetation.

It is also interesting that the rail felt comfortable enough to engage in grooming, which it did for about 10 minutes, while I stood on the bank about 50 feet away. I stood very still for a long time before this rail began grooming. I heard the Virginia Rails engage in contact calling between each other and heard the Sora's call from time to time.
SeEtta

Virginia Rail HATCHLINGS including a pic

I was back doing surveys for the Colo Breeding Bird Atlas-II at the wetlands at the site on which I have posted pics of Virginia Rails below. I have had glimpses of what have looked like older (blackish but almost as large as adults) Virginia Rails before. Today I saw at least 2 very young hatchlings, one of which is shown in this pic.

I first saw 1 very young hatchling run between the cattails a few times. Later I saw a very young hatchling following an adult Virginia Rail, who then stopped and fed it. Then another adult Virginia Rail came from the other side and appeared to call a very young hatchling out and proceeded to feed it. This was all too cool as these hatchlings stayed mostly in the vegetation.

As can be seen in the pic, the hatchling is covered in black down, which is it's natal (birth)plumage. Though not shown on the photos (looks almost gray in the photos) I took, the bill on these hatchlings looked whitish. From what I can discern from Birds of North America (BNA) online and several other references, these hatchlings are probably more than 3-4 days old but less than 3-4 weeks old.

Virginia Rails are "precocial", meaning that they are capable of moving around on their own soon after hatching. From what I've read, they do "run down the nest ramp" by the end of their first day after hatching (per BNA). Apparently both parents feed the hatchlings for about a month.
SeEtta

Yellow Warbler mom on nest with hatchling

After I got the pic in yesterday's post, I left the area so I wouldn't delay the parents returning to feed the hatchling. Parent birds are often reluctant to return to a nest with a potential predator (they can only be concerned that humans are predators) in the vicinity. On my way back to my car I passed the nest again and found both the adult and hatchling together in the nest.

As these pics show, the Yellow Warbler is hunkered down in the nest with a very young hatchling asking to be fed. This is the mom since females do the brooding, this is a female. Since they usually lay 4-5 eggs, she is likely incubating several eggs. Again, I took my pics and got away from the nest so the hatchling can be fed without interruption by me.

The bottom pic shows what I shot with my digital camera on full 12 X (approx 430 mm on non-digital camera). I was 8-10 feet away from the nest (not right on top of it as the close-up appears). I am always as quiet as possible when I am near a nest so as to reduce disruption as much as possible. The top pic is the same as the bottom pic only enlarged by cropping to show details.

Ironically, this nest is locate at the Texas Creek BLM Recreation site in western Fremont County. This site has heavy ATV and dirt bike use which are destructive to bird (and other wildlife) habitat (and birders since it is important to hear birds call and sing, not easy with those machines that sound like lawnmowers amplified by megaphones). However, this Yellow Warbler was nesting in a tree near the Arkansas River in a location that is fortunately difficult for these loud machines to access.
SeEtta

While doing some surveys on one of my Breeding Bird Atlas routes today I found a well constructed nest with this nestling inside. I moved away so the parent would return and a Yellow Warler came to feed this very young hatchling. In fact, I think this hatchling doesn't even have it's eyes open yet (though clearly it's beak does open uite wide).

It's interesting that the plumage on this hatchling, gray, matches it's nest so well that the bird almost looks like part of the nest (except for it's beak and gape).
SeEtta