As with all other milestones, these hawks stick closely to their timeline, and in previous years, it has been right around 47 days from when the third egg hatches to when the first eyass jumps off the nest.
So May 4 was when #3 hatched, and today, June 19, is the 47th day.
I sent John Blakeman some of yesterday's hawk pictures of outstretched wings and close-ups of their head feathers, and asked his opinion on how soon they might fledge. His response:
"All of these eyasses could jump at any time. There is virtually no down left on the head feathers, and the head feathers have almost completely covered their heads.
The remnant feather sheaths, anywhere on the birds, are no longer debilitating or consequential; merely artifacts of end-stage feather development.
But don't be concerned if any of the eyasses (or all of them) elect to stay on the nest for a few more days. One of the Cornell eyasses persisted for many days, when it could have jumped much earlier. There is no way really to predict a jump-off date. The birds have no quantitative compulsion to jump after a typical number of days. Much more stochastic -- chance and random number.
They all look healthy, alert, and prepared for the airspace they will soon pierce and begin to dominate.
Give my regards to everyone at FI and the website. Another successful year." --John Blakeman
The eyasses continue to flap hard and literally spread their wings, and we can see how well developed those feathers now are.
No more feather sheaths are visible.
Most of the wing flapping now is facing forwards to the street, another sign that fledging is imminent.
This is #3, just as ready as its older siblings.
As they become more confident, they get closer to the edge... Maalox time!
They are jumping vertically higher and higher "catching air"...
... and as with the flapping, are starting to jump sideways...
... and ever higher.
As they jump/flap in and out of the nest from the ledge, they are getting more air time...
... and are running out of landing space.
It is definitely getting crowded on the nest, and they are not respectful of each other's space.
However, when The Boss returns, the body language changes drastically!
As soon as food becomes part of the equation, though, all decorum is gone.
If you click on the above image to enlarge it, you can clearly see the difference in eye color between the eyasses (gold) and the formel (dark). The eyes will stay gold for the first two years.
They spend a lot of time out on the ledge now, and the Franklin Institute has now switched over to the ledge camera...
... which is positioned outside the Board Room window.
This camera lets us see all the action outside of the nest.
Mom and T2 continue to bring food constantly to their ravenous offspring. Rat remains a favorite...
... as well as squirrel.
But it is quite possible that the two white pigeons in the Family Court flock are no more. On June 15, dinner was noticeably paler than usual...
... and it was again a menu item on June 17.
When they are not eating or sleeping, the eyasses take note of everything in their environment, whether is in on the ground below...
... in the air above...
... to the right...
... or to the left.
And all the while, the haggards watch the nest...
... for anything untoward. Mom is on the right.
More often, she is at the tip-top of her favorite tree...
... while T2 is off hunting.
So let's wish these wonderful eyasses a safe fledge and happy landings as they get ready...
... to make that first big jump.
Let me express my huge appreciation as always for the magnificent photographs from so many hawk followers. Your images make it a joy to write this blog.
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