It’s arguably the busiest week of the year at Greenbelt — our annual Art in the Barn show is in full swing at the Cox Reservation in Essex, and it’s truly an all-hands-on-deck effort. As a result, I haven’t had as much time to check in on Annie and Squam this week.
So far, there’s still no sign of a third chick in the nest. At this point, I would have expected that egg to hatch, so it’s looking increasingly likely that Annie and Squam will have a two-chick brood again in 2025. We’ll know for sure in a few more days.
Annie is hard at work caring for her 3-day-old chicks. I just watched her wrap up the morning feeding (see photo), with both chicks flopping over at the end—clearly full and content. She then settled back into brooding them — and presumably the unhatched third egg as well.
This will be the routine for the next couple of weeks, until the chicks grow too large to fit beneath her. Even then, Annie will remain close, often seen shielding them with her wings or providing shade with her body.
Around the region, reports are coming in of many nests with chicks. And that is normal and right on schedule.
If anything changes with Annie and Squam, I'll report it here as soon as I can.