Docents- have you noticed the change in feeding behavior of our young of the year?
Young chicks get fed very near the nest. As they grow and move about, feeding locations move further away. With the fledglings being very mobile, we've seen several fledglings run and mob an incoming adult with fish. This makes it hard to feed your own. To help counter this mobbing, see if you observe an adult with fish call and find their kid, passing low to get the youngster to follow, then the two fly to a quiet space to do a quick meal hand off.
The next step is to teach them how to find food on their own. At the right tide, inshore fishing lessons with practice dives to the surface can be observed. After that, most of the training moves further off shore or in nearby flat water. If you see any of these activities, it means the kids are growing up. What other activities do you see?

Current LETE numbers:
I should have these for you in my next email. As you have noticed, there are very few LETE left at the colony, just a few adults/chicks/fledglings. Our final numbers are usually available in Sept.

—David Pryor