Saturday, May 24, 2014

Goshawk chicks grow up

Week 1: Feeding - after stripping the feathers and bones from the prey,the parent feeds the meat to the chicks
Three weeks ago or so we had a lovely walk near the reptile centre near Lyndhurst.  At the centre they have a couple of nestcams.  One is of a pair of goshawks.  These are pretty rare in England and the location of the nest is a top secret, not even known to the people who are manning the reptile centre.  Anyway I loved the look of them so much that I decided to go back and draw them (from the nestcam that is, the nest is up the top of an unknown tree!)  I brought my pastels to the nestcam.  It was interesting to hear the guides talking behind me as I drew and it was interesting to to learn a lot about the birds. I'm really proud of the results.  Four pastels.  Hope you like them.

Since then I have gone back twice and the chicks are now changed.  From little balls of white fluff they have changed into almost full grown birds.

You can see the nestcam live at:
http://www.newforestgateway.org/Wildcam/LiveCameras/tabid/117/Default.aspx
.And that site can lead you to more information about goshawks.  The ones that I drew were probably related to a pair brought from Germany for falconry that then went wild and started a colony in the New Forest 
Week 1: Eager chicks wait for their food their adult feathers beginning to show in places.
Week 1 A chick flaps its very long fluffy white wings
Week !: The chicks wait for one of their parents
Week 2:  The chicks are much bigger now and have started to grow a few adult feathers particularly at the tail.
Week 2: Another drawing of the chicks a week later.
Another week later.  Now they have almost complete adult plumage and soon will start to fly

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