The Tree Sparrows nesting in our B&W birdcam box have successfully raised another brood of 5 chicks which fledged yesterday (Friday 24th June). Three of the chicks fledged by midday and the final two waited until it was a bit quieter, after the children had gone home to fledge at around 4 pm. On the last day, the adults only fed the chicks at the entrance hole and only entered the box to keep it clean of faecal sacs. The could be heard calling the chicks from nearby trees and from on top of the box to try and encourage them out.
Watch this video of the 4th chick fledging
The chicks will soon have to learn how to find food for themselves as the adults already appear to be preparing the nest to raise a third brood, so watch this space….
The adults are again spending time in the box which suggests that a third clutch may have been laid. It’s lucky they weren’t put off by last week’s events. On Monday, Mrs Tait noticed that one of the cable ties attaching the box to the wall had broken leaving the box dangling. Amazingly the birds still kept going in the box even though it was now facing a different direction! Mr Heathcote re-fixed it to the wall at the end of the day. On Tuesday we had a wasp invasion and the wasp nest (which was behind the wall boarding) had to be fumigated. They have also had to contend with some pretty hot weather over the last weekend.
Today they must be wanting a bit of privacy as it looks like they’ve brought in a magpie feather which is obscuring the camera’s view