Bluetit Diary    May 2002 (4)

Both our bluetits continued sitting yesterday with nothing of note to report.  Not that they were getting much of a look in, as the day was one of frantic activity with our robins.  We knew the chicks were due to fly today and we were desperately trying to get some decent pictures of them before they did.  

We tried many things, but finally an upgrade to Windows 2000, i-Catcher and our Panasonic video camera produced some pictures that will help us to remember this important event in their lives.

Let us introduce the family.  Here is Mum, or at least the more feminine looking bird!  She is still looking sweet even after the pressures of the last two weeks.

Perhaps he's beginning to think that it wasn't such a good idea after all.  Ah well, it'll be all over soon - till the next time!

The chicks are more difficult to introduce.  For the most part, they keep well down in the nest until a food delivery arrives.  Here you can just see three gapes welcoming the latest offering. 

It continues here as the parent lands.

Food delivered - it's time to go

It's getting late - soon the chicks will be left on their own again for their last night in the nest.

But before that, there's one last duty for Mum (or is it Dad?) to perform.  A faecal sac is removed from the nest.

The chicks flew successfully early this morning.  Our passageway will be a lonelier place without them!

Our bluetits are now in the doldrums of the nesting process. Both Beauty and Battler are incubating but the growth of the chicks inside their eggs is not very dramatic looking!  

In the picture of Battler on the left, you can see how she spreads her wings as she is fed.  She does this nearly every time, so this is not a one off event.  However, we have never seen Beauty do it which only underlines how different the behaviour and personality of our two birds are.  It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that a bluetit is a bluetit is a bluetit..... but anyone who watches them closely can see that each one is different!