The suspense has been high at the manor, awaiting the news of whether or not Zorro and Esperanza are successful in raising a family.
A lot of watching while Esperanza hunkered down on the nest through the constant rains that we’ve had in Maryland this past month. Suffering through harsh conditions, she was steadfast in her care of her four eggs that she laid.
Zorro would come in and reprieve her now and again, giving her a chance to stretch her wings and feel like a bird.
And then I noticed that the behavior changed of Zorro and Esperanza. She began to sit on the edge of the nest instead of in the middle like she has been. Curiosity got the best of me and I finally figured out a way to get a view of the nest. Taping my iPhone onto the end of a tree pruner, and having my friend climb up a ladder, we finally got a peek inside.
Lo and behold there were two babies and two eggs awaiting. Celebration was had at the manor.
Waiting patiently for another week, we once again did a quick nest check. This time though It appeared that one of the babies was clearly bigger than the others. He was seen pecking on his little brother and another was laying down on the nest looking as if he had been pecked to death. It was a sad day and all we could do was let nature take its course.
But the God Lord shined upon the family and tonight I managed to notice not one head (which is what I expected) but three little heads pop up in the nest. What?? Three Little Zorro Babies? How awesome can this be?
Zorro was sitting in a tree on guard duty after delivering dinner, and in the nest Esperanza tore off bits of fish and fed each of them.
And we should all celebrate for the success of Zorro and Esperanza. Now we can enjoy our little ones grow up and enjoy the summer on the Chesapeake Bay.
To help with this celebration it is now time to give our little ones some names. I would love to hear some ideas. What say you?
Emily Carter ~ Nature as Art 
Oh wow!!! congrats to the family and hooray to resilience after all they been through 🙂
Isn’t that the truth Andy? They are a true testament to “never give up.” It’s fun watching the kids fight in the nest. Sibling rivalry. 🙂
I can already imagine the lectures the kids must be getting lol
They get “The Stare” I think that’s lecture enough. LOL
Especially from Zorro whew haha!
Amazing!!
Thank you so much Patrick.
Sure!!
Hope u can check out my blog too!
patrickjosefdc.wordpress.com
Hope u can check out my blog too!
patrickjosefdc.wordpress.com
Three little ones – how exciting – congratulations!!!🍾
Can’t tell you how happy I am about this Joanne. After all of the trials that this couple have been through.
That’s great news!! How about the Three Musketeers: Athos, Porthos, and Aramis
I love this suggestion! I’ll get a poll together this next week so that people can vote.
How wonderful! Congratulations 😃
I like the 3 musketeers also. At first, I thought of Hewie, Dewey & Louie… 😉
LOL ! Love it !! Didn’t think of the 3 ducks. I like thee 3 Musketeers although their names are hard to remember. I was thinking of names from The Princess Bride. Buttercup, Humperdinck, Inigo, Westley..etc. What do you think?
I am concerned about the disturbance of wildlife during nesting season. Was that a drone? Who shot the video?
As a certified Nestwatcher through the Cornell Nestwatch program, I adhere to their guidelines for observation. http://nestwatch.org/learn/how-to-nestwatch/code-of-conduct/
As mentioned in the post, we used an iPhone taped to a long tree-pruner and were present for only a minute in the afternoon. We have only visited twice, waiting a week in between.
No disturbance to the family happened as they are familiar with us. Nothing more than a boat passing by or a jetski. The neighbor’s dog loose is more of a problem than anything.
Good to know. 🙂
What about Curly, Moe, and Larry?
They certainly act like the 3 stooges. I may go with the 3 Musketeers though. Still haven’t decided. We need to put it up for a vote!. Thank you so much Stephen.