A close-up view of the Raptor Cam hawk nest in downtown Portland revealed Wednesday that one of three juveniles has a deformity that prevents him from feeding himself, and the Audubon Society may attempt to rescue the hawk.

Live: Raptor Cam

Thousands of bird-lovers have been watching the nest of a pair of Red tail Hawks since mid-March on the KGW Audubon Raptor Cam. The nest is located on the fire escape outside a downtown Portland office building.

On March 18th, three chicks hatched, a male and two females.

Slideshow: Chicks Hatch (Mar. 18)

1st Month Photos: Hawks growing fast!

2nd Month Photos: Ready to fly!

Close watchers of the Raptor Cam have noticed that one of the birds has struggled to keep up at feeding times.

Bob Sallinger, Conservation Director for the Audubon Society of Portland, studied the birds up close Wednesday and observed the male fledgling was unable to feed himself, instead begging his parents for food. The bird also has trouble with its eyes, making it even harder to feed himself.

"As a result, he begs almost continuously for food and his parents are still feeding him," Sallinger said. "Mom is very patient with him attempting over and over to put food into his mouth and cleaning his beak for him where food remnants are building-up." "She is a good mom!" Sallinger added.

Read more from Bob in the Raptor Blog

The good news is that the two female fledgings are very healthy and Sallinger predicted they would be ready to fly from the nest within a few days.

The two females can be seen jumping from the window ledges to the railings, practicing their flying skills. They are also actively ripping and tearing food that mom brings to the nest, all signs that the birds are developing normally and moving toward fledging.

"The nest itself is an absolute mess---full of animal parts, garbage the parents have incorporated into the structure and a lot of bird poop!" said Sallinger.

As for the struggling male, Sallinger explained that it is not uncommon in nature for some chicks not to survive.

When asked if there was some way to aid the struggling fledging, Sallinger shared this plan for possibly trying to rescue the bird:

"Our plan it to let the fledging process continue uninterrupted for right now. The two healthy nestlings are so big and active that any attempt to access the fire escape would likely cause them to jump prematurely. We are going to let the two healthy birds fledge (leave the nest) without any disruption. If possible, we will grab the third nestling once his siblings are airborne. We will give him an exam and see if there is anything that can be done to fix his ailments. If it is something that is quick and easy, we will put him back out on the ledge to rejoin his family. They will all remain in the area for many weeks following fledging so we would have at least a little time to treat him and still be able to put him back out. If it is something more complicated, we will have to explore other options."

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