Bluetit Diary    May 2008 (14)

 

 

Monday 26th May, 2008

Today has been one of the wettest days of the year so far with 31mm of rain as measured by the rain gauge in our garden.  That's an inch and a quarter for those who like rain measured in inches.  Thank goodness Sally's chicks did not fledge today!

We start with Freda's chicks when at just before 9 o'clock in the morning, there was still one egg that has not yet hatched.

Ken is looking rather wet, not surprisingly, but he continues regularly to bring food to the nest box.

Just as well!

What do you think of Ken's new hair style?

Ken is now well able to feed the chicks himself if he comes to the nest with food and finds Freda missing.

Sally's chicks are doing the sensible thing in the circumstances - sleeping the time away until things improve.

They all perk up of course when there is food to be had.

Mealworms are a regular part of their diet at the moment - they are a significant help when the weather is this bad!

Wing flapping is becoming more common - the chicks must be leaving the nest soon - please not today though!

A picture in which you can see all ten chicks - at least I don't think the bird on the left is a parent - it's far too smart to have been out in today's rain.

Here are the ten chicks again - they must have heard somebody coming with food!

See what I mean about the bedraggled parents?  Joe looks almost as wet as Ken did earlier!

Thank goodness for mealworms!  We are getting through quite a lot at the moment - all in a good cause though.