13th June 2012
Woke up this morning to be greeted with an empty nest ! All 4 remaining youngsters decided that today was the day to make their way out into the big wide world. To be fair it was a lovely morning, for a change. Checking back on the footage, it seemed that they wanted an early start, so much so that I missed the first one to fledge! Once the first one had gone, the other 3 quickly followed suit, even 'runty' (which was a surprise), and by 05:15am they were all gone. Good Luck little fellas ...
So after all the trials and tribulations, a fairly successful season. Fred & Freda managed to raise 50% of their brood, which is slightly below the average, but under the circumstances a remarkable achievement.
So that's it ... until next year, when we will do it all again (if we're lucky)! I hope you've enjoyed watching Fred & Freda's story, I wish you a great summer (surely the weather must improve!), and hope to catch up with you again next Spring.
Fledglings Nos.3&4
Fledgling No. 5
12th June 2012
At last we have a fledging !! At 18:27 this evening, the first brave soul decided it was time to venture out into the big wide world. He had been jumping up to the hole all day, but thought better of taking the plunge, then at 18:27 he just jumped up and flew off, quite late in the day really, so lets hope he finds a safe haven. Weather permitting, I suspect that at least 2 of the remaining 4 will go tomorrow. Lets hope that Fred & Freda continue to return to the nest to fatten up little 'runty' !
Fledgling No. 1..
The remaining 4 ..
11th June 2012
Well, after the big build up yesterday .. Nothing much happened today !! Mind you, not really surprising, after another miserable and wet day. All 5 chicks stayed in the dry for at least another day. Maybe tomorrow, the braver ones may venture out, I'll keep you posted.
10th June 2012
The tension and excitement is palpable !! Sad to report that we are now down to 5 chicks, looks like runty chick couldn't handle the constant trampling by the others. However, the remaining 5 have been very active all day long. I was convinced that the biggest 2 would make a break for it today, they have been wing flapping and jumping up to the hole constantly, and I think Freda thinks they are ready too, as she has been sitting on a branch outside and encouraging them out and both parents have been feeding them from the hole, but none of them have been brave enough to take the plunge yet !
Is this the last time we will see all 5 together ?? (I think it might be ...)
Here is Fred feeding from the hole ..
Here is all the action :
9th June 2012
Finally a day without rain !! Fred & Freda are now bringing in lots of food regularly, so lets hope the chicks can build up their strength for the final push. Have been watching and willing on Freda, as she desperately tries to remove the dead chick from the nest, but not succeeding as it's just too heavy for her to lift to the hole. She keeps persevering though, bless her. Lets hope that she does manage to remove it, and not jeopardise the success of the remaining brood.
Well despite numerous efforts, Freda still didn't manage to remove the dead chick. However the remaining 6, seem to be coping well. There is lots of jostling in the nest now, as its getting a wee bit cramped ! A couple of the 'senior' chicks are preening themselves and practising wing flapping, at the expense of the 'juniors' who are acting as stepping stones !
Not surprisingly, Freda has again decided not to roost with them tonight, no chance of getting any sleep in there now !!
I think 2 or 3 of the chicks, will venture out into the big wide world within a day or two, hopefully the remainder, will continue to be fed and follow suit a few days later.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61N_KfB4ZVE&feature=plcp
8th June 2012
Well we still have 6 chicks ... Despite the weather, the parents are bringing in enough food for them to hang on. Noticed that tonight is the first time that Freda didn't roost with the chicks, this usually happens when the youngsters are getting ready to fledge, and are capable of keeping themselves warm, but they seem a little way off that yet !
7th June 2012
Well I am happy to report that we still have 6 chicks. Despite the horrible weather, the parents are still managing to bring food in to their hungry offspring. In the clip below, you can see them all lined up and huddling together to keep warm. You can see that there is one chick (bottom right), who is noticeably smaller than his siblings. With the weather forecast for the next day or so not great, lets hope that he can grab himself enough food (when it comes in), to sustain himself.
I still can't get the video uploads to Blogger working, so I will upload the videos to YouTube and post the links here ..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTc4kA5Hs64&feature=plcp
