July 10, 2003 - The Chicks are Healthy and Males!

Sergej with helpers Barb and Christi arrive at the Wildwing Lake nest platform by boat.  The ladder is being placed to retrieve the chicks from the nest above.

Sergej goes up the ladder, ready to retrieve the first of the chicks.

The first chick is into the boat! Notice the size of those wings - nearly 2 feet in length, and this chick is only 5 weeks old.

A second chick on his way down to the boat.

The second chick is in the boat, with the first sitting up in the bow, partly hidden behind the support pipe.

Sergej is on his way back up to retrieve the last chick.

A closeup of the two oldest chicks. The chick on the seat is about 5 weeks old, and his younger sibiling about 4 1/2 weeks.

With the last chick in the boat, Sergej begins his work on the youngest chick. He is checking its age, overall health, sex, and applying a Federal Game and Wildlife band to the right leg, and a Green ID band to the left leg. This bird will forever be known as C41.

As Sergej works with the bird, Christi shoots photographs, and Barb takes notes on Sergej's findings.

The last item to be done before returning C41 to the nest is to apply a small area of "hot pink" paint to his white breast feathers. This will allow volunteers to identify him after he fledges and begins flying around inside and outside Kensington Metropark.

C41 up close with his small "hot pink" paint patch!  He is ready to be returned to the nest.

Nice shot Christi!

While her chicks are in the boat, C09's mate look on from a perch a short distance away.  Little did she know she was about to become the target of an attempt to catch her, so she could be banded for identification in later years.

Sergej climbs the ladder again to place the youngest chick, C41, back into the nest, after sexing, banding, and painting.  This chick will be the enticement to attract its mother to the nest, so she can be captured.

Another trip up the ladder for Sergej with the trap mechanism. This trap is made from a flattened semi-sphere of chicken wire with multiple strands of monofilament fishing line formed into loops and attached to it. It works by snaring the leg(s) of a landing bird.

Having placed the trap on top of the nest platform, it is tied in place using ropes attached to the sides. Chick C41 is in the nest under the trap, in no danger, and being observed continuously from shore.

C09's mate made two passes at the trap over a 3 hour period. This is the first, and was the closest approach of the two.  She was very wary of the "new look" of her nest and would not set down, but instead, continued to observe her chick from a nearby, shore based perch.

C09 also made a pass past the nest with the trap in place.  He wasn't fooled either! He flew on and also landed on a shore based perch and watched the nest from there until the trap was removed.

If you look closely at C09, you can see the green ID band on his left leg.

While the trapping attempt was going on, Sergej was on the shore working with the two older birds, checking their health, sex, and applying a band to each leg. Assistance was provided by Barb, Christi, and Lori.

With his work completed, each chick also got a spot of paint on its breast for future identification.

This is Lori (from the DNR) with the sexed, banded, and painted chicks. The oldest chick, C42, (painted "hot yellow") is in her lap, and younger chick, C43, painted "bright blue" is on the ground.  C42 is about 5 weeks old, and C43 is about 4 1/2 weeks old according to Sergej.

When it became obvious that the female would not be caught this year, the trap was removed and the two older chicks were put back into the nest with their brother.

The ladder was removed, and the boat returned to shore, leaving the nest in its natural state.

In less than a minute, C09's mate left her viewing perch and returned to her nest and chicks.

C09's mate then spent the next few minutes checking out her brood, making sure they had not been harmed. A short time later, C09 flew in with a fish for dinner.

Except for not catching and banding the female, the day was a huge success. We know the chicks are very healthy, all males, banded for future ID, and painted for ease in spotting them after they fledge. That should happen in about 3-4 weeks!

Please Note:  The photographs on this page were taken by Jim Kortge, and Christi Vedejs.  They are copyrighted material, and cannot be used without the photographers written permission.