World to watch chicks exit nest
A brood of blue tit chicks which have gained worldwide fame are preparing to fly the nest live on camera at a Shropshire country park. A brood of blue tit chicks which have gained worldwide fame are preparing to fly the nest live on camera at a Shropshire country park. Bridgnorth District Council installed a webcam in a birdbox at the Severn Valley Country Park, near Alveley, in April and a pair of blue tits quickly set up home and laid a clutch of eggs. The eggs hatched on May 7 and people have been glued to the CCTV images ever since to watch the parent birds feed their young. Pictures from the nest are being broadcast on the Westgate authority internet website www.bridgnorth.gov.uk/birdbox Read the full story in the Shropshire Star.
A brood of blue tit chicks which have gained worldwide fame are preparing to fly the nest live on camera at a Shropshire country park.
Bridgnorth District Council installed a webcam in a birdbox at the Severn Valley Country Park, near Alveley, in April and a pair of blue tits quickly set up home and laid a clutch of eggs.
The eggs hatched on May 7 and people have been glued to the CCTV images ever since to watch the parent birds feed their young.
The eight chicks are now almost full size and are expected to leave the nest any day now.
Pictures from the nest are being broadcast on the Westgate authority internet website www.bridgnorth.gov.uk/birdbox - the image is updated every five minutes.
Live images and sound are also being shown in the Visitor Centre at the country park so anyone going along during opening hours can watch continuous coverage from the nest.
The birdcam has attracted viewers from across the world, with fans from as far away as California emailing to say how much they have enjoyed watching the chicks.
This is the first year the council has placed a webcam in a birdbox. The tiny camera is hidden in the roof of the box so it does not disturb the birds.
Ed Andrews, a countryside ranger at the Severn Valley Country Park, said: "It has been absolutely wonderful to be able to watch the blue tits raise their chicks. We are all very excited about the fledglings preparing to leave the nest.
"We are hoping that either the same blue tits, another nesting pair, or maybe even a wren might take up the box again to rear a new brood."
Angela Linsday, also a ranger at the Severn Valley Country Park, said she had become glued to the webcam.