Birds

mjm3346

The below bird and 11 half thumb sized chicks are hiding in the border or under some large steel beams - crows and magpies are very interested.

Large concrete yard, 1 small bit of border and 1 small raised (too high for the chicks) border, level access on to a road and also a garden and orchard.

Let nature take it's course (I've seen the large birds off 3 times) or ? 

twopenny

Looks like some sort of partridge - or exotic escapee from a park.

Soo cute but breakfast for the preditors.

The foliage looks pretty dense and full of branches which means the bigger birds can't get in probably when the babies scatter. Is there a fair run of this stuff?

The reason they have so many (congrats to the mum for that brood) is that some will be lunch for something. But we hope more survive. As they are out and about I'm not sure you can do anything to help unless you can temporarily create more obstacles and hiding places with pots or cut branches around the foliage to increase the size of protection. Will look a mess for a couple of weeks but then there's the reward.

It's a little treasure to have and witness though

mjm3346

Unfortunately that's actually just a fuchsia maybe 5 feet across but the bed is only a couple of feet wide and a fair bit of it is just bare soil ready for planting.

The bird hopped up a step into the house doorway when I was outside so I couldn't approach without driving it inside, fortunately the step was too high for the chicks so it came back out.

Eventually walking slowly behind them they reached a point where they could go forward to the garden/orchard with plenty of cover or turn left down the pebble covered driveway to the road - of course they turned left, I went past giving them a wide berth, to keep them off the road and they fortunately went through the bottom of a hedge to a garden with lots of ornamental grasses against one wall and lots of other plant cover around a lawn. (away from the area the Magpies and Crows are usually seen)  

twopenny

Sounds like the 'mum' has good sense. Perhaps she's done it before.

We used to have a family of ducks plus ducklings cross the main A39 by where I live. Locals would stop their cars and wait for them to cross. Unfortunately it's got massively busier and people now wouldn't see someone stopped and wonder why, they'd just shoot round swearing.

And there was a couple of Sandpipers nesting on a stoney beach I used to watch the chicks grow.

So it's always a treat to see something like this.

Davesnave

I'm sure it is a partridge. They normally stay close to dense crops or vegetation and often run to hide rather than take off when disturbed. We sometimes see them when in the car eating fish n' chips. They might dodge away when we draw up, but soon re-emerge.

If even half the chicks survive, they will have done well. That's nature.

quirkydeptless

Davesnave said:

I'm sure it is a partridge.

   Ahah!

greyteam1959

Definitely a partridge.
A Red Legged Partridge

twopenny

Any pear trees?

mjm3346

twopenny said:

Any pear trees?

Yep - a rather old and large one in the cider apple orchard - don't think it rests there


  

MalMonroe

I just wanted to say they are gorgeous!! I have no advice to offer at all and I don't want to know anything more as couldn't bear any bad news but I love your tree and I love those birds. Thank you so much for putting pictures here. Really cheered me up today