Los Palitos: Day Two

Los Palitos—Day One

After more than two weeks of fretting and anxiety (mine, that is), the eggs hatched today and we have two scrawny, yellow, and ugly little lumps I've named the Palitos (Uno and Dos). Pal (the mom and/or dad) has been sitting patiently throughout, sometimes turning around and waggling some tail feathers at me.

Today, Pal was gone when I came back to the apartment. I've been worried that the eggs weren't fertile, so I opened the window a bi and there they were, huddled together in a sodden lump, but clearly breathing. Pal stayed away for at least an hour, which made me awfully tense, but I guess she (or he) knows more about this than I do.

Pals

I noticed this bird hanging out in my window box. It was sitting there for quite a while and I kept thinking "what a lazy bird that is." Finally, it dawned on me that it wasn't lazy, but roosting. Sure enough, when it flew away for a bit one afternoon, I opened the window quickly and spotted an egg.

I've named her Pal (short for Paloma). My friend Daniel, who is a true expert on local birds, tells me she's a Paloma Torcaza, or Eared Dove. It's likely that there are two of them, with the male and femal taking turns sitting on the eggs. Since they look just about identical, I can't tell when Pal 1 switches places with Pal 2.