You remember those little nuthatch hatchlings I showed you last week? That was not the beginning of the story of course. Here are some great tit eggs. The mother has been laying them day by day, allowing them to get cold as she disappears to feed. Then, when she’s laid the lot, she starts to incubate them. They warm up as her body covers them, and lo! They hatch at pretty much the same time as each other. Will they all make it to leaving-the-nest stage? That is another story …
Monday Portrait
From Pyrenees to Pennines 
I’m in awe of how much effort the adult birds put into raising their chicks only to have so many of them perish. Some, as you say, not even making it out of the egg. Currently we have fledglings galore which is wonderful.
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I hope there are enough insects for them. That’s been a big issue here, but the changing weather seems to be putting that right. Hooray for the fledglings!
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That looks very cosy. I hope they all make in but I imagine there’s an evolutionary insurance policy in having so many. I finally saw some ducklings yesterday. They’ve been a rarity over recent years.
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I had to grind to a halt in our village the other day because three families of goslings were crossing the main road simultaneously. Two lots one way, one the other. Greylag geese are intent on world domination here. 3 sets of adults produced 27 goslings, all of whom are prospering.
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