Yesterday Veer spent hours on the lower ledge looking like he was trying to get up the courage to let go and take off but he just couldn’t quite bring himself to. Then when it was getting too dark to anyway, he tried to rouse his sisters, who’d settled down in the nestbox–go, go, I wanted to fly today, what if I don’t get to, come with me now, let’s go!
VEER. Shut UP. So then he bounced across their backsides and tails with those huge feet of his, at which they got up and yelled at him. He ran out to the nearer ledge, walked behind the box, came back the other side and laid down too. But not before he’d pushed them out of the coveted corner spot.
Little brothers!
Today after more of the same agonizing, he made the leap and flew to the upper ledge, somewhere only the parents had gone before. He then flew along half its length, ran the rest, and stood there king of all he surveyed, flapping his wings, tucking them in, watching white down feathers fluffing past from the nest area, judging distances. Finally his mother apparently thought, enough of this, and landed nearby up there with prey. He snatched it right out of her grasp and flew straight down to the safety of the runway.  Go Mom! Thank you for rescuing me from myself! Phew!
Teenagers.