There’s a Chick in the Nest!
June 21, 2021
Yes, chick #1 has hatched; exactly when is subject to personal opinion.
By 6 am yesterday (June 20) chick peeps were regularly emanating from the nest. That’s a sure sign a chick is on the way but not proof positive that the pip had started, much less a hatch. We never saw a pip (it’s a tough nest for egg viewing) but there were plenty of claims of sighting the chick, none which garnered a true consensus that you could hang a hat on. The first proof positive was when the chick emerged from under Mom’s wing at 4:56 am this morning.
We still have a wide range of opinions about hatch time. But a good piece of evidence is based on Mom’s behavior. It was around 1 am this morning that she started giving very clear indications that she had a chick under her left wing. So I would say that the actual hatch occurred no later than 1 am. But if you’re set in your mind that it should be a solstice chick, feel free to claim that the chick hatched on the 20th. There’s no one who can prove you wrong.
