Bluetit Diary    May 2009 (20)

 

 

Sunday 24th May, 2009

And will Bella's chicks fledge today?  Well, some do but most don't!

These six chicks don't seem to be in much of a hurry to leave the nest.  And where is the seventh chick?  Probably buried at the bottom of the nest cup.

Mum comes in with some food.

You can imagine her saying - "Come on you lot.  It's time you left home and fed yourself!"

Another feed - and we can still see only 6 chicks.

At last, this is a chick having a look outside.  You can tell it's a chick by it's short tail feathers.

The others can't bear to watch!

Looking at it from the outside, it looks as though it's about to fledge.

Surely it'll go this time?

If it doesn't fly this time, it'll fall!

Oops!  It nearly does fall too!

It's away! Flying at last!

Just imagine - twenty days ago this was a pink, blind, featherless blob that had just managed to escape from inside the egg it had been laid in.  Now it is the size of an adult bluetit and can fly!

The other chicks can't believe their eyes!

Four hours have passed and none of the other chicks has shown any inclination to follow the last chick out of the box.

Which brings me back to the interesting question of where the seventh chick has vanished to.  Yesterday, it was clear that there were 7 chicks.  Look here if you don't believe me!

My conclusion is that one of the chicks must have fledged before 6:13 when the system was switched on.