Griffon Vulture Webcam in Israel

[Marbzy]

12:15 And Mom uses this opportunity to take leave


12:16 The chick will take a few minutes to come to terms with Mom's departure


12:17 Is she still in the chick's seeing range?

[Marbzy]

12:21 OK, so Mom's gone


13:23 Digestion in progress


14:21 The little one goes bananas again!

[Marbzy]

14:21 The chick comes close to falling off the ledge...


14:22 This is not going to be just another feeding!


14:22 It's relatively plain sailing initially

[Marbzy]

14:23 ... but then the chick has to pull out food from Dad's beak with genuine force


14:23 The trouble is that that meat doesn't really want to come out


14:23 The feeding turns into a little tug of war - Dad being the stronger of the two pulls the meat back in (together with the chick) and then tries to regurgitate what might be the same chunk over and over again

[Marbzy]

14:24 The chick isn't that quick to let go of the meat


14:25 They both keep pulling


14:25 The chick actually seems thrilled to bits (Dad's more conservative in his reactions as he is forced to use his claws occasionally to hold he meat down)

[Marbzy]

14:26 And here we go again


14:27 Finally, Dad just turns around and leaves


14:27 The chick will again take a long time to calm down

[Marbzy]

14:28 Is that you, Dad?


14:30 Oh, the disappointment!


14:50 A little exercise...

[Marbzy]

15:16 ... is followed by a move to the nothern end in search of shade


15:54 It's got to be infernally hot out there (low 30s, officially)


16:10 Another afternoon to survive

[Marbzy]

18:08 Patience seems key


18:55 The operator is caught napping


19:16 That's better, thank you

[Marbzy]

20:00 The chick is not going to fledge at the age of 130 days


20:12 (S)he does get up from the ground, but having done some stretching...


20:38 ... goes to bed


Good night to the griffon chicks, 130 and 111 days old tonight.

[Marbzy]

2 July

00:27 A regular night check


09:29 It's been a quiet start to the day (though I can't say anything about the 5-8 am bracket.


10:06 It also seems that there have been no feedings today yet

[Marbzy]

10:50 Gliding practice (watch the chick's left foot - it's almost ready to leave)


10:52 The chick goes from the centre of the nest area to the three rocks on the right in two leaps


10:56 Reward is coming!

[Marbzy]

10:57 T49 has landed


10:57 Dad begins to regurgitate for the benefit of his ever-hungry chick


10:58 This is a much calmer affair than yesterday's epic struggle

[Marbzy]

10:59 The chick encourages Dad to carry on


10:59 It works - up to a point


11:00 Unlike Mom, Dad tends to leave without deliberating

[Marbzy]

11:01 Dad?


11:05 The chick calms down five minutes later


11:16 The little one resumes gliding practice

[Marbzy]

12:41 So who's betting on the chick fledging today?


13:32 Not in the mood...


13:35 Now, who have we here?

[Marbzy]

13:36 Double trouble?


13:37 They seem to be T67 and T15 and fond of each other


13:37 These labels are rather unfamiliar

[Marbzy]

13:39 They're not regular visitors to the nest


13:43 The two adults stay away from the chick for the entire duration of their stay


13:43 The chick watches the other visitor disappear

[Marbzy]

13:48 The chick is ready to claim the spotlight again


13:49 This looks like a personal best from the little one


13:52 A very convincing horaltic pose

[Marbzy]

13:56 The chick negotiates the tricky hollow with ease


14:44 Now then!


14:46 Griffon are said to have excellent eyesight