Monday 19 June 2017

Hot Chick

The temperatures have soared over the weekend with every person and every animal heading for the shade.


It's also affecting the baby birds. It's not uncommon for swallow chicks to fall out of their nests in this weather. There are 12 nests in total on the farm and their nests are close up to the hot roofs. The  chicks are getting big and they spread out to get cool in their over crowded environment and whoops! Out they come. Several were found on the ground yesterday and returned by means of a ladder.
I haven't really said much about the swallows this year but they have a nest in the stables close to the one I followed last year. Yesterday they had all flown the nest except one.


Watching from a safe the parent birds did not seem coming to feed this little one but I could only leave it for them to return. Three times later in the day we found a little swallow on the ground. The parent birds were swooping down but were cautious of coming right down. After two attempts at putting it on the wall where it flew a little way I finally I resorted to the roof where the parents came down to it. I have no idea this morning whether it recovered enough to join it's little family. 




2 comments:

  1. Oh dear that is awful that these little babies are falling out of the nests. More evidence (as though we need more (not)) that world climate changes are about ... makes me sad. I do like the rings around your trees to keep the horses off them.

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  2. Ohhhh. I know it's nature's way but I can't help getting sentimental. On my last Ramblers walk we came across a quail(?) chick on its back in the road. Possibly we disturbed a fox about to carry it off? Lots of cheeping in the hedges so I carefully lifted it into the verge in the hope it was not injured and that mummy was nearby to feed. I have a horrible feeling it might not have been a happy ending and thought about the poor little thing for several days afterwards. Hope the swallows all made it.

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