A few days ago (Tuesday, 11 June) I witnessed such a special event while I was at work in Gatwick!
In previous days I had been appreciatively listening to the chirping of baby birds who had apparently hatched into a nest in the eaves just above my desk. I could see 1 or both parents flying to and from the nest throughout the days, so I wasn't that surprised to hear the chirping of baby chicks! And it was ever so pleasant to work underneath this busy and excited scene. But then today around 10:30am I all of a sudden realized that I couldn't hear the chirps anymore! What the...??
I looked outside and saw this: two baby blue tits with their fuzzy heads clinging to the bricks on the side of the building, looking back and forth and seeming to talk to each other.... "Let's go together!" "No, you go first and I'll follow." "No, lets go on the count of three!"... and their little fuzzy heads twitching to and fro. Then Mama bird (I'm assuming Mama, but could have been Papa) did a fly-by and must have shouted something at them "Come on kids, its FUN!!!" and then a few seconds later one of the birds got brave and flew off towards the massive oak tree about 100 feet away. "But what about meeeee?", I could just imagine the lone chick saying. She was all alone, still clinging to the brickwork. After about 2 minutes, she too flew off but quickly came back as if panicked that she couldn't make it all the way to the tree. She struggled to find a brick to land on but eventually found one to rest on for a few more minutes before giving it another try. This time she made it to the tree and that was the last I have seen or heard from either of the fledglings or their parents. They have truly flown the nest.
I've thought so much about these fledglings and what their Tuesday must have been like. Did they spend the entire day flying and exploring the wide wide world with their parent(s)? Did they start building their own nests to move into? Had the parents already built them nests to move into before today? Did they learn how to fly AND how to catch worms on the same day? What a big day for these little blue tits! You'd think on such a landmark occasion, they would long to go back to the nest they grew up in to get a good night's sleep. I realize how little I know about birds. I would not have even known these were blue tits except that my colleague recognized them.
In previous days I had been appreciatively listening to the chirping of baby birds who had apparently hatched into a nest in the eaves just above my desk. I could see 1 or both parents flying to and from the nest throughout the days, so I wasn't that surprised to hear the chirping of baby chicks! And it was ever so pleasant to work underneath this busy and excited scene. But then today around 10:30am I all of a sudden realized that I couldn't hear the chirps anymore! What the...??
I looked outside and saw this: two baby blue tits with their fuzzy heads clinging to the bricks on the side of the building, looking back and forth and seeming to talk to each other.... "Let's go together!" "No, you go first and I'll follow." "No, lets go on the count of three!"... and their little fuzzy heads twitching to and fro. Then Mama bird (I'm assuming Mama, but could have been Papa) did a fly-by and must have shouted something at them "Come on kids, its FUN!!!" and then a few seconds later one of the birds got brave and flew off towards the massive oak tree about 100 feet away. "But what about meeeee?", I could just imagine the lone chick saying. She was all alone, still clinging to the brickwork. After about 2 minutes, she too flew off but quickly came back as if panicked that she couldn't make it all the way to the tree. She struggled to find a brick to land on but eventually found one to rest on for a few more minutes before giving it another try. This time she made it to the tree and that was the last I have seen or heard from either of the fledglings or their parents. They have truly flown the nest.I've thought so much about these fledglings and what their Tuesday must have been like. Did they spend the entire day flying and exploring the wide wide world with their parent(s)? Did they start building their own nests to move into? Had the parents already built them nests to move into before today? Did they learn how to fly AND how to catch worms on the same day? What a big day for these little blue tits! You'd think on such a landmark occasion, they would long to go back to the nest they grew up in to get a good night's sleep. I realize how little I know about birds. I would not have even known these were blue tits except that my colleague recognized them.
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