Hovering Blue Tit

After yesterday's willy sculpture, I thought you'd like an update on my tits today.

The blue tit parents are very tolerant of me standing just inside the open door taking photos, about 10 feet from the entrance to the nest, the main problem is that with the black weatherboarding the light is not very good.

Over the last couple of days the parents' behaviour at the nest has changed, rather than entering the nest straight away they are hovering in flight outside and returning to their hanging basket bracket perch several times before feeding the chicks. I assume this is to encourage the young to come up from the nest and peek out of the door.

If you look carefully here you can see a little beak - or gape.

One of the parents is looking very shabby now, its feathers on the right hand side of its body and wing are getting worn away by the weatherboarding as it squeezes into the nest space. In fact there is even a change of colour on the weatherboarding now, as if it has been polished!

The cheeping of the chicks is getting louder by the day, I can hear them clearly from inside the cottage, the nest being at floor level in my bedroom.
They don't half waste a lot of my time though!

19.05.12
16.05.12
15.05.12
13.05 12