Normalness

Here's a photo I saved from yesterday that shows the chick out on the "porch" of the nestbox.  The past couple of days we have seen the chick being left "alone" in the nestbox for long stretches of time.  This is normal!  Some comments on this:  As shown in this photo, the chick isn't really alone - Durand is right there, perched on the camera housing.  Even if one or both of the adults aren't immediately visible via the cameras, they ARE likely close by.  

As the chick continues to grow it really doesn't need the warmth of the adult so much any longer especially with the current weather in Central Ohio.  The past couple of days have been quite warm (high in Columbus yesterday was 88!).   Along with the warm days, nighttime lows have been mild as well (Monday's low was in the low 40s but since then it hasn't been cooler than 60 overnight).  This weather pattern is predicted to continue for the next several days.

Other telltale signs of normal progress of the nestling phase:  The chick is starting to pick at leftovers in the nestbox and lunge towards the adult when food arrives.  Finally, the nestbox is getting fouled with feces and prey remains.  These conditions can also induce the adults to keep their distance from the chick!