update - 2 chicks dead and the male parent has disappeared. So if we assume he's dead for whatever reason, that leaves the female raising two chicks by herself.
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update - 2 chicks dead and the male parent has disappeared. So if we assume he's dead for whatever reason, that leaves the female raising two chicks by herself.
We were suspicious weren’t we?
Its so sad and I’ve watched from day one.
Had a cry I will freely admit.
Very sad news is that all 4 have died now. Sorry Darksky :weep: This does happen in nature as we know. It happened in humans too up until the not so distant past. The good news is that other baby peregrines will make it to maturity this year. There is another church only maybe 20 miles from here where there's a nest.
My brother says bird flu looks unlikely as the parents would have got it. But then he said the male parent was missing?
I can’t understand what happened. The two remaining ones were very strong.
I did see the other day there was a weaker one at the back and when he came forward for food he was given a harsh pecking by one of the stronger chicks. He backed off :weep:
The other two as well, it’s so hard to get my head around it…it’s so very sad. Sorry I’m crying again. Thank goodness I’ve been cutting onions. At least Mr.D won’t think I’ve lost my marbles.
Not enough food coming in? With four chicks, that's a lot to keep up with. It's tough I know, but nature is 'red in tooth and claw' they say?
I've witnessed some pretty ugly scenes involving animals/wildlife, most I wouldn't want to go into here. My daughter says its why I have anxiety, but I think I was destined to anyway.
Maybe there wasn’t. If the male has gone missing, there would be a drastic reduction in the food coming to the nest.
My eldest son will be upset, he used to sit and watch them with me.
I had an old country aunt who used to quote that saying…nature being red in tooth and claw. It’s true. We mourn the chicks but how many birds did the adults kill in their need to feed them.
Still awful though…I think I just invested too much into it.
Chatting with my brother today, I asked if it was discovered what the outcome of the failed brood was in the spring.
He said it was in fact bird flu. All the chicks tested positive, so we can assume the male parent that went missing succumbed to it as well.
I think that's more acceptable in my mind than the male being shot or poisoned. At least bird flu is a natural factor that future broods may develop some resistance to.
It’s good to find out what happened. Still sad but as you say, much better than any ill intent towards the male. So the female didn’t catch it then?