Coming up to the last days for the chicks in the nest and today I saw the first signs that they’re starting to think about leaving.
The adult flies away after feeding and obviously one of the chicks has a flap and is already thinking about following it. Although right now it’s still too early.
I think that the majority of the chicks should be leaving the nest on Tuesday although it will be interesting to see what happens with the sixth one. It was born one day later than the others, I don’t know if this means that it will stay a day longer on the nest, creating feeding complications for the hard working parents. If if does leave with the others it will be a little weaker and more at risk.
The other news of the day is that my cats have started to pay a little more attention to the area around the nest. It’s interesting to see how low the chicks hunker down, they know there is danger around, but also how well their camouflage works.
I’m pretty sure that they can’t get access to the nest, I’ve also made it a little more difficult, but it will increase the risks for the chicks when they first fledge. They will be very unsteady in a new environment and really at maximum risk.
Unfortunately, domestic cats are the number one predator threat for all small songbirds.
However for now all is well in the nest as shown by the end of day photo.
Chatou Nature Blog 