hi all:

snuck (yeah, well, i'm not a english majer) up to the falls this morning and
saw mom fly in with a tiny snack for the kids at 7 am. looks like the
psychological wars preceding fledging have started (if i quit feeding them
so much, they'll leave home). at that point the three hags went into
shakespearean mode, dancing around the body:

double, double, toil and trouble,
fire burn and cauldron bubble . . ..

the fourth, smaller, probably male chick stayed at the back of the cave and
left his burley clutchmates to their devious devices. he eventually darted
in and got a piece of breakfast which he took to the back of the cave.

visible down feathers are nearly gone. the male looks capable of flight
with the others not far behind. i had earlier predicted flight around june
1 and 3, but that seems too late now. anytime in the next few days they
could fly.

viewing conditions remain abominable. the river is quite high and the mist
makes viewing across the river almost impossible. one needs to line up a
scope and wait for breaks in the fog to actually see much. i was up there
briefly last night and could only document three chicks, but there were four
this am. the crowd today will make parking and sanity hard commodities to
find. tuesday, tomorrow, is supposed to be better weather.

regards,

dave tee
fall city

crazydave65atgmailditcom