Oldest chick took its first flight on August 25
The first three pictures are of the chick at its usual observation perch. After a while, it took a very short flight from the front of the oak stand, to a position a little further south in the same oak stand.
The young kite then slowly moved to the rear of the oak stand, taking practice wing flaps on the way. When it reached the end, and, after repeatedly looking left, right, up and down, it took its first flight. The initial flight path was downward to the ground, after which the kite flapped and lifted itself upward to land on a tree at the back of the garden. (It took me by surprise; there is no photo of the first flight, just the landing.)
One of the parents was in the gum tree to the west, and the other in a tree just south of the gum tree. The parents ‘egraaked’ at various moments during this undertaking. The slideshow below shows the following activity.
Activity in slideshow:
- August 25: Chick observation perch.
- August 25: Flight preparation.
- August 25: Here we go, having checked all sides.
- August 25: End of first flight.
- August 25: Well, that wasn’t too bad.