1-28-2025 3 Eggs! Jackie Goes For The Gold!

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After a full day of Jackie and Shadow trading egg-duty shifts, Shadow delivering two fish to his gorgeous partner and some tender mating on a nearby perch tree, nature delivered another beautiful moment as Jackie laid her 3rd egg this evening…right on Jackie’s schedule, 3 days after the 2nd egg.

Perhaps suspecting what was happening, Shadow returned to the nest only 10 minutes before the action started. He checked on Jackie with tender, head-tilted looks at her. Jackie’s soft squeals seemed to let him know she was ok, but needed to be on her own.

This time it was after sundown, in the quiet darkness…

Jackie sat very still on her eggs, glancing around, but obviously focused on what was happening inside her. In the background, the sweet sounds of a Northern Saw-whet Owl seemed to be cheering Jackie on in her solo mission of birthing her 3rd egg.

At 17:40, the feathers on the very top of Jackie’s head gave their announcement that something was stirring. She soon stood up from her eggs, this time looking very calm. She’s been through this before…she knew what was happening and exactly what to do.

Her body went through the same process as with the first two eggs…her feathers puffed up, her wings drooped, her body hunched, and she pushed, releasing her effort-filled tea-kettle sounds through her beak. Jackie’s tail pumped powerfully this time, like it was assisting the little oval treasure make its way through Jackie’s magnificently designed egg-laying system…

…it was less than 4 minutes today to get to that final push. Jackie looked down and the 3rd egg had been softly laid down beside the other two. Her calmness continued as she gently, talons tucked, stepped back to check on her eggs. She almost immediately settled down on top of the eggs, fully ready to keep them warm and protected. She even snapped off a small twig from in front of the nest bowl and tucked it under her.

After that quick but intense process, Jackie, like most animals, knew to release that pent up energy from her body…after about 15 minutes, she stood up and rapidly shook all the trauma out of herself. With that gone, she settled back down on her eggs and relaxed so completely she fell asleep almost immediately.

Another beautiful job well done. Another miracle of nature moving forward on the adventure of life. Thank you, Jackie, for allowing us to be in awe of you and Shadow.
Sandy


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