The new family

We went to the new nest site last evening and over the course of nearly 2 hours watched 4 baby merlins branching, a couple rather far from the nest. From many hours of observation, only 3 birds had been seen but last night a fourth emerged clearly and as actively as the three others. Now, of course, we will be straining to see if there are ultimately 5 babies as there have been in the previous 2 broods.
There was no unusual activity last evening. The babies branched and flapped their wings according to their age and size. The two eldest babies were the furthest out on the limbs while the 2 younger a little less so. I have heard that, not unlike human behavior, male birds adventure further and faster than females and that the females are much better at preening away their downy feathers. If that is the case, the 2 birds perching farthest from the nest were males complete with downy "Mohawks"!
We witnessed a couple of prey drops by Spike (the mom), heard the young's calls several times, and saw how active they became after each feeding. After a feeding, the birds usually start head bobbing, moving around the nest, jumping and then branching, picking, scratching, wing flapping. Such was the case after both food deliveries last night. There was a lot of movement for most of our time there.
There was one oddity which is an addendum to my prior post. A "rogue" bird (I was told, male) flew in around the second prey drop occasion and was chased off by Thor (male father). It was a defensive attack but nothing like the behavior when the "predator" is, say, a crow or a bald eagle. This was a quick attack to drive the bird away and just as quickly it was over. To anthropomorphize, it was as if Thor said "Thanks but no thanks". Interesting.
The photos are of the two male (?) adventurer babes from last night.