Day 18 — Chicks visible in daylight; up to 4 confirmed; 3 unhatched eggs still in cup at 10:51

The female broods without interruption overnight. Chicks appear in IR clips from 02:51 onward—pale rounded shapes at the cup edge when she shifts—and recur in a dozen or more clips through the pre-dawn hours.

By 05:38, a chick is briefly visible as the female moves. At 05:41, an interval clip shows the cup empty of adults with several naked, pinkish chicks clearly present. Daytime color imaging from around 06:00 improves resolution: at 06:24, multiple small grey-downy chicks are visible with yellow/orange beaks. Three chicks are confirmed in a single view at 06:40 when the female departs the cup.

The male arrives at 06:27 for the first feeding of the day, two chicks gaping. He returns at roughly 07:04, 07:33, 08:07, 08:34, 09:29, 10:34, 11:05, 11:57, 13:04, 14:02, 14:52, 15:56, 17:17, 18:41, and 19:27—chicks are gaping in most of these clips. Four chicks are visible simultaneously at 09:29, 10:35, and 13:04.

The female broods steadily through the afternoon and evening with brief departures. IR clips from 20:29 onward show her settled for the night, chicks visible beside her through the end of the record.

At 07:01, one unhatched egg is visible in the empty cup. At 10:51, an interval clip shows 2 chicks alongside 3 pale speckled eggs simultaneously—hatching still in progress late morning.

Pipeline: No infrastructure changes this day.

Day’s metrics.

• Clips: 583
• Sunrise / sunset: 06:01 / 20:09 PT
• On-cup share: 83.2%
• Dad visits: 8
• Brooding clips: 445
• Feeding clips: 42
• Chick gapes: 40
• Max chicks visible: 4