May 11, 2008 - Happy Mother's Day!

I think the third egg hatched today. Big Mama has been super protective and I haven't been able to get a good look inside of the nest to be sure. The two bigger birds - keep sending in name suggestions! :) - are much stronger now! They have a light covering of white feathers all over their bodies. They can also hold their heads up for minutes at a time. It also seems like they are not wasting their energy on lifting their heads until they know that Mama is nearby. They rest until she is a foot or two away from the holly tree; then they opening wide. Still no noise from them yet.

Protective Mama not letting me peek at her kids.

When Mama senses danger, all of the feathers on her head stick up.

Yesterday was warm, so Lucy was able to spend a lot of time away from her nest. I hope she took advantage of this warm weather since tomorrow is going to be 25 degrees cooler!

This is the tree that Lucy chose to build a nest.

This is the amazing view we get from inside the house.