One chapter ends.. another begins...

Good luck little chicks!!!

I looked in on the litte chaps this morning and they were busy preening and hopping about in the nest box.. regular feeding and lots of whirring of wings. I went out for the morning and when I returned 3 hours later the nestbox was empty. Disappointed to have missed the exit I was also pleased that Flossie had been shut in the house while they made their maiden flight. I went outside to check if they were near the house and after a few moments quiet observation saw the parent bird in the bush nearby.. I wandered slowly down to see if I could spy the little ones and was surprised by a sudden blur and whirring at around knee height!!! It whizzed at great speed round behind the border and disappeared. I decided to nip inside to get my camera... (sadly my long lens packed up last night but that is another story!!) and returned outside to see if I could find the little one again. It burst out of the ground cover and flying at high speed at knee height it flew about 20 feet and up onto my compost bin which is about 3 ft high. There it sat looking at me looking at it. I attempted to take a photo but as you can see the outcome is nothing to be proud of but it is here as a record of the success of this little family. The mother flew over and looking down from the branch of the oak tree gave a barely audible chirrup at which the baby dived off the bin and down into the wall behind. The mother keeping one beady eye on me.. the other on the fledgling.

Happy, happy days... good luck little family and I look forward to hosting your next generation!!

For the record :-
Spotted the nest with eggs in it on 30th April
First chicks hatched 13th May (7 hatched)
Fledged 3rd June (2 made it)