The first two youngsters fledged just before 9am this morning, and the remaining three within the following fifteen minutes!

The weather could not have been better for their big day; blue sky, a gentle breeze, and mild. All five flew strongly from the start and the parents are now busy rounding them up.

Chick number two ready to make its leap of faith...

Chick number five landed on the netting surrounding our childrens' trampoline, before flying off into a nearby tree.

To round it all off, here is some video of the last fledgling leaving the nest: June 4: Final fledgling flies the nest (side) and June 4: Final fledgling flies the nest (top)

So that's it for another year. Thanks for watching and for all the nice comments!

Over the last few days the youngsters have started taking much more of an interest in their surroundings. There is much pecking at marks on the box wall, at each other, and at bits of nest material. There's the usual wing-flapping and preening too. All of this activity is accompanied by a whole lot of noise; it is rarely quiet in the box now.

On the rare occasions when it is quiet...

Twas the minute before mealworms, when all through the nest, not a Bluetit was stirring, they were having a rest...

I'll spare you any more poetry - the picture speaks for itself. ;-)

The parents tend now to feed from the entrance hole, this might be an effort to encourage the kids to be curious about the hole, or (more likely I think) it might be they have no desire to be mugged by the five feathered juvenile delinquents who now inhabit the box!

June 2: Feeding Time (side)

June 2: Feeding Time (top)

The youngsters should fledge either Wednesday or Thursday this week if all goes to plan; 21 or 22 days after hatching. Current weather forecast is for both days to be dry-ish and mild. Before then, torrential rain is forecast for later this evening and into Tuesday. I hope it will be dry enough by the youngsters' big day...

Mrs Bluetit chose to roost away from the box for the first time since 5th April, leaving the youngsters for their first night on their own. She's chosen a fairly pleasant evening for it; humid but cool, with mist across the fields.

Presumably Mrs B. will have a better night's sleep than if she'd roosted in the box, judging by the amount of fidgeting going on this evening!

At approximately 11am this morning, the Great Wall partially collapsed to the extent that the side-view camera is once again providing useful images!

To dispel any rumours that a certain human armed with a stick was responsible, here's a video capturing the moment: May 30: The Wall, and here's a sample of what we've been missing this last week: May 30: Side-view Back in Action!.

The chicks are growing at a phenomenal rate now. They are almost completely feathered, bar a few pink spots around their wings, and some have started making the familiar fledgling Bluetit "cheep cheep cheep" call. One in particular is bold enough to attempt to leave the nestcup on a few occasions.

"Is there anybody out there?"

Just look at those feathers. They were only just "in-pin" a week ago...

Here's a video of Miss or Master Bold having a stretch and almost (but unfortunately not quite) pulling down the Great Wall of Wool. Listen out for the "cheep cheep cheep" call. May 27: Older and Bolder

Ten days down and the chicks' eyes are now open. But you'll have to take my word for it because thanks to Mrs Bluetit's knitting skills, the side-view camera is effectively redundant. As a consequence I have disabled video capture for that camera for the time being - though the five-second snapshots are still available. Perhaps as the chicks grow older and bolder they will dislodge the wall of wool blocking our view.

The chicks are one week old today and the beginnings of feathers are clearly visible. Their original pink skin colour is gradually being replaced by dark blue, particularly on their heads and backs. Wing feathers are also "in-pin".

Trouble is, you'll need sharp eyes and a bit of luck to spot the changes thanks to Mrs Bluetit's recent nestcup modifications. To give the growing chicks more space she's widening the nestcup. This has the unfortunate side-effect of piling up the wool against the glass, obscuring our view of the proceedings. Martin, of The Two Wrennies fame, suggested we install windscreen wipers for next year. I like his thinking...

In any case, I managed to capture a couple of semi-interesting snapshots today:

"Gimme, Gimme, Gimme!" Is it just me, or does that look like Emu of "Rod Hull and Emu" fame?

Look at that Emu-esque "face grip" - It is Emu!

Rod Hull (r.i.p.) would've been proud!

In other news, here's a video clip of Mr Bluetit feeding a mealworm to a hungry chick, which then goes on to demonstrate one of the fundamental laws of physics: May 22: What goes in must come out.