It’s becoming much easier to see all of the chicks in the nest and there are clearly Six, all doing well.
The parents are bringing in lots of winged insects for food with the occasional caterpillar. I hope that the winged insects include mosquitos, I could do with a bit of natural control on these pests.
The chicks have developed their first feathers which ensures that they can start to regulate their own temperature. The Female therefore doesn’t need to spend so much time on the nest keeping them warm, more time for gathering food enabling the chicks to grow as quickly as possible.
The first feathers give the chicks quite a dark appearance and although it will turn into a slightly lighter colour, they remain brown. They will not develop the famous red breast of the Robin until much later in life, well after they have left the nest.
This is very different from the Great Tits who develope their distinctive Blue colouring as chicks inside the nest.
The reason the Robins don’t do this is because the brown offers better camouflage. The open nest is vulnerable, being brown enables them to blend in much better. Also, because of it’s vulnerability the Robin chicks leave the nest as soon as possible which means before they are capable of flying. So the first days of their life outside the nest is spend hoping around the nearby bushes. At this time, without the possibility to escape from predators by flying, a bit of extra camouflage is a good defense mechanism.
I’m trying to keep the live stream up most of the time so don’t hesitate to check it out here.
Chatou Nature Blog 