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Post by alf1951 on Jun 29, 2016 6:33:25 GMT
At first I thought they were fledglings but I think these are exhausted adult blue tits looking the worse for wear.   |
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Post by Tringa on Jun 29, 2016 7:48:07 GMT
I think you are correct Alf. All the young blue tits here appear paler than the adults but very 'well groomed', if you see what I mean.
Adult blue tits around the end of a brood always seem to be very bedraggled and look as if they really worn out. It is odd that this very worse for wear look doesn't seem to occur in other birds.
Dave
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Post by rowanberry on Jun 30, 2016 9:46:19 GMT
These are some photos I took of a bluetit pair and their brood last year, and I noticed how frazzled the parents appeared as well.  The parents are the one frantically trying to shell a sunflower seed, (top of far left corner, partially conceal by the bramble branch) and I presume Dad bottom right of the photo.) The size of that fledgling... and he does look so pleased with himself. I'm afraid my squirrel defences got a little extreme last year- they do work, though.   BlueTit Family by Wabi Gallery, on Flickr  Blue Tit Fledgling by Wabi Gallery, on Flickr |
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Post by NellyDee on Jul 1, 2016 8:46:47 GMT
This frazzled blue tit was a single mum (dad caught by sparrow hawk)She did manage to have 3 fledglings
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Post by accipiter on Jul 4, 2016 16:06:26 GMT
The bedraggled appearance of the adults is a consequence of the very hard work that is needed to collect the very high number of caterpillars and insects, up to one hundred per day per chick. Also the lighter the colour of the feathers in this case yellow the less melanin pigment they contain and so are far less hard wearing than darker feathers that contain carotenoid. And of course squeezing in and out of crevasses / holes all take their toll.
It is surprising just how many insects Little owls eat too the adults I have been watching for the last two weeks were delivering one every two minutes, mostly beetles, caterpillars, and moths. But their diet is much more varied than this consisting of mice, voles, reptiles, worms and birds some of which are cached for later so their daily life style as in some other bird species is not quite as frantic as adult blue tits although still fairly busy.
Alan
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