It's Time to Say Goodbye!

It's time to wave goodbye to Lola and our four chicks.


Lola's four chicks spent their last night in the nest box alone.

She arrived with some breakfast just before 5:25am.

Lola and her brood.

At 6:56am we have our very last capture of Lola and her chicks all together.
"Come back, Mum!"

At 6:57am Chick One takes the plunge. You can just see the chick's tail as it sits in the entrance hole.

Chick One has left the building! His three siblings remain.

Lola arrives in the box immediately after Chick One has fledged with a small amount of food.

Another chick jumps up to the entrance hole once Lola has left. This is the chick which can be seen sat in the nest cup in the above three pictures.

This chick didn't quite have the courage this time, and jumped back down to the nest. Lola returns to the nest to three rather bemused chicks.

Who's going to be next?

The second chick to fledge did so at 7:20am - twenty two minutes after the first. This chick is the one on the far right of the above picture. Off he goes!

Once Chick Two had fledged, Lola was very quick to arrive again. The chicks probably need reassurance and encouragement from Mum!

The third chick hasn't fledged already, has it?!!


Nah! They they are! Our last two chicks in the nest. The other one was hidden from view.

But it wasn't long before Chick Three decided it was time to take the plunge. All the time, as the chicks have been leaving the box, Lola has been on the fence just a few feet away calling them out. Is Chick Three ready? It has been forty minutes since the first chick fledged.

Nope! Chick Three needed a bit more encouragement. Lola came back to the nest for a few seconds with a sunflower heart.

And this time Chick Three was ready! Off he (or she!) goes with help from Lola calling outside...
...leaving our last chick all alone for the very first time. "Where's everyone gone?"

But here's Mum again with a little bit of food.

"Come on, time to go!"

"I'm scared!"...

But he's ready to go. "Mum! Here I come!"

I saw the final two chicks leave the box. The last one to leave took his maiden flight right over my head and flew to a garden not too far away to join his Mum and siblings. Although this is the end of our story, it's certainly not the end for Lola: she now has to look after them on the outside for up to four weeks until they are fully independent. Good luck, Lola & chicks!

They've all gone, Lola, remember?