This year has been unlike others. Generally, there are three offspring. This year we noticed the removal of one egg that didn't hatch. It was rolled out of the nest to the center of the roof. It disappeared rather suddenly, perhaps left for scavengers. There was only one baby chick. This seemed much easier for the parent birds as they had much less food to acquire. The chick slowly morphed to resemble the shape of an adult bird. It remained dark but still nagged its parents for food although it'd reached their size. Beginning last week it was getting ready for flight. It would hop around flapping and then stop short at the end of the building and stare longingly at the roof of another building below. One morning this week, we looked out to see him on that other roof.
Today, we haven't spotted the baby. Over the years we've seen considerable variation in behavior. Some young ones stick around for months forcing the parents to continue caring for them. Others seem to pack up and fly away relatively soon. Once the young have been reared, the parent seldom hang around the building. So the process, although having some predictable parts, is a new adventure each year.
As our adopted young bird is ready to venture out on its own, we were surprised when seeing the chicks above. Yesterday, when getting off the SeaBus between Vancouver and North Vancouver, many passengers were stopping to admire these very little ones. The nest was on the corner of the adjacent building. There was glass between but a few feet behind was this scene on public display. Just like most species, humans included, these cute little things will soon grow up to be ugly, demanding adults.