Ms Tegart's Nature Page - Live updates as they happen!

Hi,

During a time of uncertainty it's lovely to see Nature at her very best. Ms Tegart has kindly agreed to share something wonderful with you all. She has a pair of Blue Tits nesting in her garden. She has been taking photos and filming the birds for some weeks now. There are definitely chicks in the box so she is very excited to see them finally fly the nest at some point. Ms Tegart is very keen for as many of our children to share this experience so please take a look at what we have so far and keep checking in for updates as they happen.

Take care all of you.

Mr C!

27.5.20

The final Blue tit report !

I have good news and bad news.

The bad news is... 😟

2 chicks didn't make it unfortunately, one didn't grow strong enough in the nest and the other was a little too weak and came in contact with the neighbours cat !!!

(The amazing thing is that even though he wasn't in the nest with the others, the parents still fed him in the garden bushes!)

The good news is...😊

The majority of the chicks survived and have now flown from the nest today !!!

The little chicks will now live independently without their parents care living in the brood.

Look at the little chick saying hello and the fantastic nest they built to give the babies a happy, safe, warm home!

Life is sad at times but also happy and amazing too !!!

I hope you enjoyed watching nature at its best and what an amazing world we live in 🌎🌈❤️

Love from Miss Tegart x

27.5.20 - The Final Report

The Nest

25.5.20

Hi Everyone,

Look at the babies now! 👀

They seem so much bigger, stronger, curious and fluffier.

The Blue Tit parents have worked so hard feeding and looking after their cute little chicks as you can see in the video.

They will learn to fly soon and explore our amazing world for themselves! 🌍

25.5.20

Whoops !!!

Tricky work this flying business !

Don't give up little bird, keep going !!!

Go for it!

Poem

Poem

Hi,

I opened lots of windows and doors this afternoon because of the lovely warm weather. As I did I could hear a lot of bird calls, look who's here!!!

How small? How cute? How noisy? How amazing?

Made Miss T smile a lot 😊

20.5.20

Hello everyone,

I have attached 2 images of the empty fat ball holder this morning as I had to fill it up!

I could also hear what I think are the chicks shouting to be fed this morning! One parent stayed in the box as the other went out for food.

I had a little closer look and the parent in the box was looking straight at me! Who are you ? it probably thought !!!

Take a listen to the video, can you hear their little chirps ?

I have attached some Friends of the Earth activities if you have a printer or why not make your own ?

Nature word search

How to make a bird bath or water station!

Wildlife bingo game

Wildlife colouring sheet

Connecting with nature can help our minds and well-being so much! ❤️

What can you hear outside?👂

What can you smell?

What can you see?👀

What can you feel?

You could make a list, make a song, draw or paint the nature you see or hear, collect natural objects with your grown up and make things from them.

Remember to look up too! Watching the clouds float by can be very relaxing, you could pretend those clouds are worries and thoughts and watch them float away.

Breathe in the air and relax 🧘‍♀️

Keep safe and smile,

Love Miss Tegart x

18.5.20

Friends of the Earth Activities

The blue tit parents have been very busy tweeting to each other and taking food into the house using their beaks.

I bet there are some hungry babies in the birdbox now!

Take a listen to them 👂

Can you guess what they might like to eat ?

14.5.20

Hello everyone,

I have seen the blue tits busy building the nest still taking blossom and other natural objects into the box so hopefully the eggs will be laid soon!

In the meantime I spotted a blackbird taking a nice bath in some water I put out ! Animals need to keep clean too ! No bubble bath needed though 😁

Look at the video 'Splish , splash, I was taking a bath'

Ms T

27.4.20

The Early Days

Can you spot the birds?

Friday 24.4.20

Today I saw the female and male out of the bird box. The male ate from the fat balls and then fed the female like the above picture, something I didn't realise they did.

I did some research and it’s called ' courtship feeding ' ( common in many birds that form lasting pair bonds ) , the male is practising and demonstrating his provider skills and also a more important function is providing the female with extra nutrition in the days running up to egg laying, so we are close!

The videos I have sent show the male feeding and the female making a noise shaking her wings waiting to be fed.

Ms Tegart