It's Fledge Day for the chicks in Box2! Two chicks fledged yesterday, one at one minute past three and the other at 7:53pm. So what will we find when the system switches on at half past six in the morning?
There seem to be only seven chicks here, so three must have flown before the cameras were switched on!
Here Sally is visiting the box with some food.
There doesn't seem to be any urgency here does there! The remaining chicks seem to be quite content to wait for a parent to come and feed them.
And of course, to some extent that is justified. I've never seen a chick left in a nest box and ignored by its parents.
Of course, this is a special nest box with three parents looking after the chicks.
Here are two of them in the box at the same time, both having brought food with them.
And again! It looks like Scruff at the top and Sally at the bottom.
These chicks don't know how lucky they are!
These chicks are in denial - it looks as though they would be quite content to stay in the box for ever!
Then suddenly one of the chicks flies up to the hole ...
Mummy - mummy!
... and eventually it flies out of the box!
Unfortunately, it flies to the left and off the view of the camera which has steadily moved to the right over the last few weeks, so I almost missed it - but not quite!
One chick leaving the nest seems to inspire the others and here another chick has gone to the hole quite soon after the last one.
There it goes! This chick seems to be flying beautifully and gaining height as well.