Day 29 — Chicks climbing onto shelf; five-count confirmed; both adults feeding

Overnight, the adult broods in short, irregular stints rather than continuously. Interval clips through the night confirm a repeating on/off pattern — the adult settles in the cup for a few minutes, the chicks are exposed, then the adult returns. Chicks show open eyes and occasional gaping even in the 01:00–03:00 range. By 04:18, a clip shows multiple chicks already on the shelf outside the cup proper, huddled beside it.

At 05:10, one clip tagged as disturbance shows a bird lying motionless on its side near debris; no position change across frames. The following clip (05:11) shows an adult settled normally in the cup. No subsequent indication of anything abnormal.

Feeding begins around 06:16 with an adult female and multiple gaping chicks visible. The male — identified by red head and chest plumage — first appears at 07:27, leaning into the cup with chicks begging. Both adults continue visiting through the morning: confirmed feeding clips at 09:10, 09:51–09:52, 10:06, 10:43–10:44, 11:19, 11:55, and 12:00, among others. Seed debris is heavy around the cup in all daytime clips; fecal accumulation on the shelf is also visible.

At 12:28 and 12:29, five chicks are counted together — all five confirmed present. Clips from roughly 10:53 onward repeatedly show chicks on the shelf surface outside the cup. At 13:36, one chick is seen stretching its wings. At 13:42, a size discrepancy is noted: one chick is visibly larger than the others. Casey is briefly visible near the nest at 09:16–09:18 and 16:45–16:46.

Afternoon and evening feeding continues with male visits at 14:59, 15:54, 16:57, 17:34, and 19:32, and female visits interspersed. By nightfall the same intermittent brooding pattern resumes.

At 16 days post-first hatch, the chicks are well-feathered, open-eyed, and already occupying shelf space outside the cup. Fledging is imminent.

Pipeline: No infrastructure changes this day.

Day’s metrics.

Clips: 520
Sunrise / sunset: 05:52 / 20:18 PT
On-cup share: 28.1%
Dad visits: 0
Brooding clips: 147
Feeding clips: 1
Chick gapes: 2
Max chicks visible: 4