Finally! Coopers chicks in Lithuania

[Leslie]

This morning I saw/heard a Coopers chick begging in a dead tree in a backyard near the park.  (Coopers chicks open their beaks to beg, and I was able to see as well as hear this one begging.)  There are probably two chicks at least, since I'm quite sure I heard calls from two directions.  So far I don't have chicks in the backyard.  They're late this year--last year August 8 was the last date I heard chicks begging.
Other news--I fail at hummer watch, but on the Sunday of the long weekend one visited the cardinal flowers, which were just coming on then & are blooming now.  Last weekend was the turn of the bee balm (Monarda didyma).  I have lots of spotted touch-me-not, but so far I haven't seen any hummers in it, only various bees.
On the Sunday of the long weekend I heard a nighthawk peenting.  The chimney swifts are also active.  And the usual cardinals, chickadees, goldfinch.  I see robins and a flicker in the same distant dead tree the hawks favour.
Yesterday a male downy woodpecker and possibly a female checked out my wooden fence.  That's a sign of fall, because the summer residents know better.
I had quite a few waxwings in July, but they seem to have moved on.
There are a few different kinds of bees (at least, they look like bees) in my flowers.  I pretty sure I can identify the common bumblebee, & that's it.  One kind is attracted to my birdbath, & goes down for a drink.  They approach the water's edge very, very carefully.  I never knew bees got thirsty.
Yesterday I got to participate in a robin rescue.  A robin had tangled itself in a badminton net.  Homeowners provide a knife & scissors, & we were able to free the bird.  At first its family called out encouragement but they backed off & fell silent by the time there were 6 rescuers.  We placed the bird on the ground and it immediately flew away.

[Leslie]

Coopers chicks are expanding their boundaries and this morning two visited the back yard.
Last Sunday morning a hawk beat the avian bounds (emitted territorial call from assorted sites on the perimeter of the wooded part of Lithuania ravine), perhaps making it safe for the chicks.

[Axeman]

Wow...is this normal for coopers ? Are they going to have enough time to grow ?

[Leslie]

I think this is late for Coopers, but this is only my third year of helping host nesting.
Wish I'd recorded the date of all that mating (but I'm Canadian, no sex please).
So, off to Sandilands, Birds of Ontario: "Eggs (of Coopers) have been reported in Ontario nests from the last week of April until the first week of July, with most present from mid-May until the first week of June.  Egg laying may be delayed by as much as 2 weeks in years when prey are scarce....One brood is raised annually.  If the first clutch is lost, another nest may be built within 3 days and a second clutch initiated....The nestling period has been reported to be 24-...34 days....Males...usually leave the nest at age 30 days,; females usually fledge when they are 34 days old.  Fledglings may depend on the parents for as long as 53 days but more typically for 5-6 weeks." (some liberties taken with order)
I wondered with the late mating (first week of June or possibly last of May) if the pair were suffering from infertility due to consanguinity (eight birds have fledged here in the past 2 years--where do they go?) or immaturity or maybe they did lose a clutch.
I have only seen two chicks, to 4 in each of the previous years.  Not only do they seem to be late, but there is another nest in the neighbourhood (Sorauren in Roncevalles) , so maybe there's some hunting competition in High Park.
Anyway, 5-6 weeks after mid-August gets you to (consulting calendar) the end of September, and that's about when the thrushes come through, so what with migrant thrushes & resident robins & cardinals there still should be time to raise hawk chicks.

[Leslie]

This morning's excitement--a Cooper chick chased a squirrel.
Chasing squirrels is a development phase for Coopers.  One year the chicks ran after the squirrel.  This time a chick flew after the squirrel who made it safely to shelter.  The whole thing was about ten feet from my back door, very exciting for me and the squirrel.  After the chase the chick perched on the fence, pretending to be indifferent.
In addition to chasing squirrels and pecking the ground like robins, the hawks also track nearby flying insects, pivoting their heads around as the insects circumnavigate.  They seem to rotate their heads 180 degrees on their necks, appearing headless from the front.  Last Friday, one chick, after a cautious bath in the birdbath, ignored a squirrel, tracked the insects in a desultory fashion (the bird was starting to doze), but snapped to attention to track falling sour cherry leaves.
A Cooper chick begging call is a whistle.  One chick has a clear typical whistle; the other a whistle with whiny buzz overtones.  This is the first time I have noticed different chick calls.  The bird with the atypical call seems to stay closer to the nesting territory.  I hear it here more frequently.  Last night I heard a non-whiny begging call in High Park about 8 pm.  (Also spotted a very small flycatcher at canopy height except the tree is leafless.)  Speculations: Do the parents prefer (preferentially feed the chick with) the normal call/atypical call or do they use other cues?  Does the dominant chick attain independence from its parents sooner (its own hinting may be faster than waiting) or later (parents may provide a more reliable food source)?  Is going farther afield than its sibling a sign of dominance (to boldly go...) or does the dominant chick push its sibling(s) off territory?  (As far as I know both chicks are the same gender, although I have rarely seen these siblings together.)