Richard Moore Outdoor Report: Magic Valley

RIO GRANDE VALLEY, Texas (ValleyCentral) — It is a magical time in the Rio Grande Valley as young Red-crowned parrots are leaving the nest for the first time and joining their parents on foraging flights throughout the RGV.

You can hear the flock’s excitement in their exuberant chatter as they gather in native hackberry and anacua trees to feed on ripe berries, occasionally dropping onto the feeder for a peanut party.

Amidst joyful din is the distinctive begging call of the young as they clamor to be fed, bobbing their heads rhythmically in expectation of a regurgitated meal from their parent.

While the youngsters resemble the adult’s plumage, they have distinctively darker eyes with a less vibrant orange iris.

Imagine the thrill of emerging from their dark, dank nest cavity where they spent some 50-plus days since hatching, before their inaugural flight.

The sheer joy of taking to the air on new wings, and soaring wide-eyed where everything is an adventure.

While the young are ecstatic, their parents are no doubt equally thrilled with successfully rearing offspring after months of dutiful devotion to their care.

Following a month of incubation by the female and mutual feeding by both parents for nearly two more months, the progeny are finally flight-worthy.

For the next several weeks, the parents will continue feeding their offspring, and that can be quite challenging when there are three hungry beaks to fill.

Gradually, they will forage more on their own, and this one is sampling an anacua leaf to test its palatability.

Of course, there is a touch of tough love required to teach little ones to feed on their own, and despite persistent begging and attempts to snatch the desired peanut, this parent refuses to relinquish the prize.

So finally, junior visits the feeder and grabs a peanut on his own…now that is progress.