Within moments after the first chick hatches from her egg, a ritual begins that will play out every day for the next two months. Dad brings in a fresh fish, while mom tears tender pieces of it and delicately feeds the chicks.
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TRANSCRIPT
- [Narrator] We cannot read their inscrutable faces, but we can see how careful they are to protect their tiny chick from their talons.
Within moments, a ritual begins that will play out every day for the next two months.
Dad brings in a fresh fish, mom tears tender pieces of it and delicately feeds the hungry new mouth.
But soon, everyone's exhausted by the whole thing.
The eggs are laid three days apart and hatch in the same order.
Now, a second little chick is also eager to be fed.
Good parenting will help her catch up with her big sister.
(chirping) One egg remains.
(chirping) But the two active chicks need constant care.
As the female broods the chicks under her warm feathers, the last egg sits out in the cold.
Finally, with his two older siblings fed and quiet, the third baby osprey breaks out of his shell and joins the family.
(chirping) He is so weak and tiny compared to his two big sisters, he can't seem to get any attention.
He can't even manage to get up.
(chirping) He struggles and struggles, while his sisters eat and eat.
(chirps) (chirps) And then finally, that little mouth in the back, the one that needs it the most, gets its first taste of fish.
(chirping) His sister's aren't pleased about sharing, but his mother seems to know what she's doing.
(chirping)
