We had a week of very blustery weather with very heavy downpours - squally maritime style weather - very unusual for late may and considering we are about as far from the sea as you can get in the UK. Along the back of our house we have three nestboxes, high up almost at the guttering. Last year a family of Blue Tits fledged from the nearest one and it was our joy to see the last chick leave the nest. Amazing to see this little ball of feathers & faith take a leap into the medium for which it was born but had no experience.

This year, the Blue Tits returned to the same box but did not nest there - perhaps the conservatory that appeared under it over the winter put them off. We were a bit disappointed but then noticed a pair of Great Tits had opened out the hole on the far box and sure enough before long, we saw them flying in and out with a procession of food items... spiders, damselflies, moths, sunflower kernels and peanuts from the feeders in the garden. The noise from the box soon told us there was a reasonable brood in there too!

Everything was going well until the box fell silent and the parents didn't visit anymore - we assumed they had fledged and gone - so often Tits leave without being witnessed. Then on the second day of no activity, I was cleaning up on the patio when I found a cluster of brownish feathers, the downy ones had a yellow tinge to them. I assumed a runt from the box had not made it and been caught and eaten by a cat. I noticed that the flight feathers were only about two thirds out of the sheath. As I crouched there looking at the feathers a commotion kicked off on the other side of the patio. I looked over and Lulu (our greyhound bitch) was crunching up a baby Great Tit! I shouted at her to "leave" and ran over to her. She dropped it as instructed and ran indoors. I picked up the chick, it was in a bad way - it's little body heaving with every breath and about ten seconds later they stopped and it died right there in my palm - I was heartbroken! We all love the birds in our garden and to have this happen in what is otherwise a safe haven seemed to make a mockery of everything we have done to encourage the birds in and keep the predators out. I showed the little chick to Lulu and scolded her - it wasn't her fault, she was only doing what dogs do, but she will learn that I was displeased with her in association with this chick and hopefully should she have the opportunity she'll remember.

I buried the little mite in my fern garden - my favourite bit.

The odd thing was, this chick, too, was also not ready to leave the nest. It was obvious where it had come from, Lulu found it right underneath. I spoke to Jude and we decided (against all we normally believe) that we ought to inspect the box. I got the ladder out and lifted the lid. Inside were 5 dead chicks, all well feathered but about a week from fledging. We had our answer. The parents had abandonned them. Lulu had probably had the first (the resultant pile of feathers I was examining) as well. These two chick had leapt from the nest in desperation and hunger - they were evidently the strongest having out-lived their siblings.

(We later found out that the weather had knocked the caterpillars from the trees and this is probably why the parents had abandonned the nest - to save themselves as nature dictates they must.)

... anyway, on with the story... I went across the road to see my neighbour "Brimmy". He is a "bird man" and I wanted to share my sad tale with him. "Oh! We found two yellow chicks this afternoon right by the corner of your fence" he told me. He didn't know of our catastrophe but immediately made the association with the two chicks. He had put them in a bush and told the kids to leave them be. One had been calling very loudly. We went to the bus and found one but the other was no-where to be seen. We watched for an hour, but the parents were not visiting. I went back and retrieved the chick (a search for the other was fruitless). Brimmy came over with a pigeon box but told us the chances of him living were low... I was expecting as much really. I filled a small syringe with water and placed a small drop on the gape (membrane either side of the beak) and let capillary attraction take it in. A few swallows told me he'd got it. Another drop or two then I scrambled an egg and let it cool. With a blunt edged cuticle stick gently prised open his beak and popped a "garden-pea sized" piece in. He swallowed it straight away, and another. We then left him for an hour then repeated with two more bits of egg. we repeted this until dusk and then covered his box. We left him on a chair in the conservatory for the night. As We lay in bed talking abut the days excitement, Jude and I both realised what we had let ourselves in for but agreed we could not stand by and let nature take it's course. "The cats take enough of the birds, they're not having him" said Jude determinedly. I agreed 100%

In the morning we lifted the cover on his box expecting him to have died in the night - mostly due to shock. Happily he was still with us and in the corner of the box nearest us. I opened the door and he stood there on the edge of the towel but he didn't seem right. He was wobbling back and forth uncontrollably and as I put my finger in front to steady him, I could feel his little feet were like ice! He was so cold. I was determined for him not to imrint on us so he could be returned to the wild but I had to warm him up and fast! I cupped him in my hands and held him close to my clothes - he just snuggled down in my palm there and then enjoying the warmth. We had so nearly killed him on the first night. From that point on, he sleeps in the office where the computers keep it at a steady 24 or 25 degrees.

After he had warmed up, he wanted to feed - no forcing, he was gaping as soon as we held the tweezers with mealworms over him. And boy! did he have an appettite.

And that's about it really, as of the end of May, he has spent 6 nights with us and is going from strength to strength. His diet is of egg, mealworms, earthworms and various seeds but he has now decided he will only eat the freshly moulted (white) mealworms - he refuses the others. We went an got him a large cage about 2ftX2ftX18ins and he seems to be happy in that - it gives him room to fly short distances and build up the strength in his wings. He has also greatly improved his agility and balance since. There is a little wicker-work nest box with moss woven in - I was quite surprised to see he roosts in that still. I would have tought that once fledged in the wild, they would not return to the nestbox. Maybe because he was an early leaver and has not got the parental stimulation to leave... dunno.

One final and sad point is Jude found the remains on another (probably the one we couldn't find in the street) chick - just the head and some back skin with feathers.

Below are some pictures, movies and a sound clip of Brian for you to enjoy. Sorry the movies are about 2Mb a piece have patience.

enjoy...

We moved Brian out of the pigeon box into a large cage so he could exercise - he seems to approve.