Bird
Box Diary Four
Videos of the
chicks leaving will be added to the new Bird Diary Videos page.
| Wednesday,
13th of June. This morning, the parents are still feeding the
chick. The good news is that Dad has found the mealworm feeder at
last! I moved it and put it next to the peanut feeder which they
have been visiting for the last few days. I managed to get some
video of him visiting it but I am unable to process it as I have both of
my video recorders taping the pictures that I am watching now. Once
he has a mealworm, he flies into the hawthorn to 'treat' it. You can
read all the gory details and see the amazing pictures on David Jones' web
site. Click
here to go there. There has been great excitement! One of the chicks leapt up to the entrance hole and called to the parents. I dashed to the lounge to watch it fly off...it didn't! I dare not turn off the recorders in case I miss anything. I have been able to grab a longish clip of a visit with food this morning and you can see that if you click on the picture below. Once all the chicks have flown and all that precious video is 'in the can', I will be able to edit it and stick it up on the web. |
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This video shows the nine chicks in the box. It is a fairy long clip of seventeen seconds and is 521k. |
| Yesterday, as it was dry and calm, I set the video camera up on the patio table to get views of the parents as they flew in and out. You can see a larger version if you click on the picture. |  |
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Thursday,
14th of June. The first chick left the nest this morning at
7.45. It is now 8.30 and no-one seems too keen to follow. This video shows one of the chicks jumping down from the window onto Mum. She then gets very upset as there is a sparrow on the roof. It flew away when I went to the lounge to disturb it. It is 290k and 8 seconds. |
| The second chick left at 9.05am. It is now 11.am and we are two down and seven to go. There is a piece of 'warming up' video with the picture. (344k and 16 seconds) |  |
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Only two chicks have left today. The wind picked up during the mid-morning and by 1.45, it was raining quite heavily. The other seven are being fed by the parents. Dad has made numerous trips to the new supply of mealworms which were fresh this morning. On one occasion, he came in with another and not one of the chicks was interested! They were all too full, I should think.
Friday, 15th of June.
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This
morning there were still seven chicks left. The weather is damp and
cold. In fact there has been some quite heavy rain. At 7.07, the
first brave soul flew off and was followed by another at 7.17. It is now 8.30 and there are five left. |
Here are the famous five. As you can see, the little one at 6 o'clock still wants to sleep. It's all too exciting for the wee fellow. At this moment, he is curled up with his head under his wing in the nest cup. In the video (223k and 8 seconds) you will see the little one still trying to sleep. |
| It's 4 o'clock and there are four musketeers still there! The other one left around 10.45 this morning. Three have their heads under their wings and the other is face down. All asleep! |
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Saturday,
16th of June. Those four lazy boys still did not want to leave their Mother this morning! But then, just after 7.00am, one went. I didn't see it as I was emailing on the other computer. Here are the three that are left. The weather is wet and worse is to come! Videos of all the chicks leaving will be added to the new Bird Diary Video Page. Please check it. |
| Whilst uploading the
above entry, another of the chicks left at 7.30. I looked across and
there were only two left. They didn't hang about either! The
next one took up position on the flight pad and flew at 7.35 and the last
went four minutes later. It's all rather sad. What are we going to do now to keep ourselves amused during the day? This has been so much more exciting than daytime television. What a privilege to have shared the incubation and rearing of these nine little chicks. What a wonderful event to witness and to marvel at. I am so glad to have been able to share it with so many members of the World community. My family, friends and those friends that I haven't met. Thanks to everyone who has taken the time and trouble to leave such complimentary comments in our Guest Book and for sending such lovely emails. We must do this again, sometime. |
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Monday,
18th of June This morning Viv found a small group of tiny,
fluffy, blue feathers on the garden path. It would appear that the
cat that I have tried to dissuade, has managed to get one of our
chicks. As I edited the videos of each one leaving today, I
wondered, "Was it you?" I have replenished the mealworm feeder and expect 250g to arrive by post tomorrow. At the rate that they disappeared today, I had better order some more when I go on-line! Both parents have been inside the box this evening and it is now empty. I have a few for the morning...just a light breakfast, I'm afraid. Lunch should be better, though! |
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Extra video sequences have been added to a page of their own. They include views of the mealworm feeder; feeding from outside and inside and all of the chicks leaving. Choose 'Next' to see them |
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