Although the eyases made the big trip out of the nest box and onto the main ledge, they stayed fairly close to the nest box and were on camera most of the time last week. Watching them was a visual treat, not because they had attained the beauty they will have as fully-feathered birds, but because they were so funny, both in appearance and activity.
They had not mastered the art of leaving the box gracefully; when eyases leapt from the box to get prey from an adult, they often landed face first. Attempts to stand and flap wings had the same result. Shuffling on their tarsi got them from one place to another faster than trying to stand fully upright and walk on their toes. All had attained the minimum skill to grasp prey, hold it down with one foot, and pull pieces off, but It was usually much easier and much quicker to get food from the adults.
At the beginning of the week, they were still very white and fuzzy in appearance, trimmed with dark feathers on their wings and tails and around the eyes. By the end of the week, more and more feathers peeked through the white fluff, as they approached the half feathers/half fluff "harlequin" plumage. The contrast between the disheveled eyases and the elegant adults is comical, but soon the down will be gone, and the youngsters will be beautiful in their perfect new feathers.
