Just to remind you - here at Orlandon Kilns we had a Willow Warbler nest in the garden. Nearby was a Great Tit nest. When the Willow Warbler young hatched, one of the parents started to get distracted by the begging calls of the Great Tits, and started to feed them as well as the Willow Warbler young. Feeding visits were very regular and mostly to the Great Tits. The other partner continued to feed the Willow Warbler young. About 8 days later we noticed that one Willow Warbler was only feeding the Great Tits and we could not see any sign of the Willow Warbler chicks being fed by either parent. A few days later we checked the nest - it had been predated, very messily, with nest lining scattered everywhere, probably by a corvid. The young were probably about 10 days old when this happened.
Today the Great Tits fledged (at last!) - the Willow Warbler continued to feed them up to the last minute - you could almost feel the puzzlement as it arrived with food to find an empty box. Whether it will continue feeding the chicks outside the box is anybody’s guess.
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