First Flight

Having spent my lunch hour watching a pair of Treecreepers flying back and forth to the old London Plane feeding their hidden brood, I thought my bird watching had finished for the day, until that is, my walk back to the tea shed. Having been watching a pair of Long-tailed Tits work tirelessly to feed their brood in the heavy rains of the last few weeks, today, in the sunshine, their family emerged, crash landing to the ground. Chaos ensued, five, then six fledglings flapping their wings in an attempt to fly, being encouraged by their parents to find protection from higher grounds. The young birds crashing into the cars in the car park, flying into walls, even being picked up by this bird watcher as a hungry cat approached and placed in a safe place out of its reach. After half an hour the young found the safety of the surrounding shrubs and trees, one reminding me of its presence, crash landing on my head and bouncing into the shrub I was pruning. It sat there chirping, looking at me, until one of its parents arrived with food.