20/05/2022
Nesting Bluetit update:
It's sad news we have to report today. Out of 7 eggs, 6 hatched but it was clear early on that one of the chicks was very weak. Sadly it didn't survive the day. 5 Chicks looked healthy and the mother was busy feeding her brood. The male meanwhile became less involved with feeding. Wednesday evening we checked-in and saw the chicks were on their own which was unusual as the mother usually kept them warm overnight. It had been a warm day though and the chicks seemed content. The following morning a parent bird visited the chicks to feed them but as some point that day stopped doing so. We think maybe the female was predated late on the wednesday and it was the male that fed them on the thursday morning. Checking in on the chicks yesterday evening it was very evident they had been abandoned. Only three chicks were alive. The nesting box was attracting flies and the chicks were desperate, even using their waning strength to try and crawl their way out of the nest. Having checked there was no adult bird activity we decided that we had to give them a chance and we took the nest box down, opened it up and removed the flies, dead chicks etc and fed the chicks with tiny bits of mince and water. Sadly one died within the hour and the remaining two didn't make it through the night. It's been a sad reminder that nature is cruel and backs up the statistics that state only 35% of Bluetit chicks will live to adulthood.
Our Robins were a little older but unfortunately they attracted attention from cats. We think they fledged, one was predated, one simply disappeared and then the nest was attacked again and the third chick disappeared but the parent birds were actively calling to it further down from the nest. We like to think he/she managed to get to safety.
