Friday 14th May 2021
Well, where to start ?
It was all going so well, and then all of a sudden, D I S A S T E R !!!
Everything looked normal yesterday, both parents in and out with food and attention. Then this morning, something didn't seem quite right, and at around 07:00Hrs,the parents seemed to be having a right old barney!!
Shortly after this, at around 07:20Hrs, I noticed that one of the chicks had perished, 😢 ok, not the end of the world, I thought, as it is very rare that the whole clutch survive to fledging. Mom duly disposed of the dead chick. Then at 08:55Hrs, another dead chick was removed from the cup, and at 09:53Hrs yet another !!
At 12:15Hrs, I could only spy 2 remaining chicks!! 😟
You can see here that both parents are still very much on the scene, so it isn't because one of them has been predated, which is one of the common reasons that nests fail. So, I am really at a loss as to why we had 7 chicks yesterday, but have ended up with just 2 this morning!
Then, this afternoon, I noticed that Mom was displaying some really strange behaviour ... She was wing flapping erratically inside the box, kept looking out of the hole but wouldn't leave !! Then she seemed to be dismantling the cup, pulling out feathers and soft material from below!! She seemed very distressed (understandable!). It's as if she was trying to do a deep clean of the nest box, and re-arranging everything! Whilst she was doing this, the remaining two chicks were buried within the nest 'fluff' somewhere!
Is she traumatised at having lost so many chicks? Is she trying to build a new nest cup for the remaining chicks? Is she being affected by whatever caused her chicks to perish?
In all the years we have been watching their escapades, I have never seen such strange behaviour from a parent, maybe the pair are first time parents?
She did eventually leave the nest box, and was gone for a good hour or so, in which time there were no visits from either parent, and I feared that they had abandoned the nest box, and left the final chick (yes, at this point, I could only see one remaining and resilient chick!), to it's inevitable fate .. I do fear the worst for him, if his parents aren't investing in him. I think we will know soon enough ...
You can just see the 'last man standing' , bottom right of the nest box:
Well much to my surprise, Mom did return to feed and cover the final chick .. I really thought that they had abandoned the nest, and Dad popped in too with a spot of supper :
If they do invest in him, with only one mouth to feed, he will have a great opportunity to thrive and survive.Fingers crossed, let's see what happens over the next 24 hours.
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Saturday 15th May 2021
So, after a whirlwind 24 hours, here we are one week on from hatching day ..
The current situation, after yesterday's decimation, is that the remaining chick is still alive and kicking, and was tended by Mom overnight, (she seems to have calmed down a bit now!)
Dad is also still around and bringing in food every now and then. Everything looks very normal here:
I was a bit concerned that there are now quite large intervals between nest visits, but then I suppose with only one mouth to feed, the parents can take it a bit easier, plus I suspect that Dad has another nest nearby! Also a bit worried that it is a bit cooler today, and LMS doesn't have any siblings to snuggle up to, to keep warm.
Can't keep calling him LMS [last man standing!], so I think I will name him Liam (which means 'strong-willed'), and hope that he lives up to his name, and pulls through against all the odds. 🤞
He does look a little forlorn, in the nest all alone .. 😔 and more worrying is that the fact that he is not responding when his parents are bringing in food, so they take it away again!
All we can do now is watch and hope that the parents continue to stay attentive towards him ..
17:00Hrs ... I am beginning to fear the worst ... The parents are bringing in food, but because Liam is not presenting his big yellow beak, I think the parents are getting confused (or annoyed!), as that is what they are expecting to see. They keep jumping in and out of the nest box, as if to trigger a response to the arrival of food, but don't seem to have the patience to wait for him to accept it .. I don't know if Liam is just too cold and weary, but it doesn't bode well if he is not taking food on board ..
18:00Hrs ... I think the end is nigh, however he is still with us, and where there's life there's hope! It looks like whatever has plagued the nest this year (avian Covid??), is catching up with him too .. He is just too weak .. a couple more days of food and I reckon he would have pulled through.
18:45Hrs ... Dad comes in with a juicy caterpillar, but try as he might, he fails to get a response ... Sadly Liam has joined his siblings in bird heaven ...
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A very sad end after such a promising start ...
I'm no expert, but I do think that this year's pair were probably first time parents, so may have made a few errors along the way ... However, there was definitely something introduced either to the nest or via some food they brought in, which ripped through the clutch like wildfire, which was probably beyond the control of the parents ..
At the end of the day, they did their best despite the extremely trying and traumatic conditions. I'm sure lessons will be learnt, and they will try again next year.
So, sorry that this season has been abruptly curtailed, (with the new camera as well, typical!), but that's the way it goes sometimes ..
Have yourselves a great Summer, and God willing, join us again next season, when we can try again, hopefully with a better outcome ..
Stay safe xx
