Nightingales in November (24 page)

Also making an appearance before the start of May, the Kingfisher chicks, like those of the Peregrine, tend to emerge at the helpless end of the scale. Hatching into their dark, dingy nest chamber, the chicks are pink, blind, devoid of
feathers and will be totally dependent on their parents. With usually just a few hours between the hatching of each chick, the adults' first act is to remove the broken eggshells, presumably to maximise the space in the nest chamber. The chicks will often take their first fish meal within just a few hours of hatching, and as the prey items are not dismembered by the adults, but eaten whole and head first, the parents will initially bring in quite small fish of around 5cm or less. Sometimes it can look like particularly young chicks are struggling to swallow a big fish, but their guts are very effective at quickly breaking down the food to make room for the rest of the meal. Unable to see for at least the first eight days, it seems that during this period the young respond to the light being blocked out from the tunnel as the sign that a parent's arrival with food is imminent.

For those Tawny Owl chicks hatching in early April, by the end of the month their eyes should be open and their bodies completely covered in a grey jacket of down, far more adept at keeping them warm than the sparse covering with which they hatched. As the chicks become more able to insulate themselves against the vagaries of the British spring, this should in turn free up the female to help her mate find enough food to supply the brood's ever-increasing appetite. Despite now spending less time with the chicks, the female rarely travels far, as she leaves her partner responsible for foraging further afield. When food is brought in by either parent, the nestlings will by now be jostling with each other for the best position to take any food offered. This undignified scramble also involves much noisy begging and there is some evidence that the adults tend to feed the chick calling the loudest. Any chick that has secured a good prey item will also call vociferously immediately afterwards, and this could help it defend any meal too large to swallow
instantly, as at this stage the youngsters are still too small to tear it up. Even when the adults are not present, the chicks will still call frequently, possibly in order to establish a pecking order, which could mean all the difference between life and death in those years when the demand for prey outstrips supply.

Faced with having to find ever more food for their growing chicks, the Tawny Owl parents may even be forced to hunt during the day just to keep up with the incessant demand. Tawny Owl expert Dave Culley has carefully studied the diet of his pair of Tawnies in suburban Cheshire and found it far more varied than just mice and voles. The chicks in his nest were fed a diet of around 50% small mammals in late April, but as other young birds, such as Blackbirds and Robins, fledge from surrounding nests, songbirds soon become the major share of the young owls' diet. A couple of weeks after hatching will also see their wing and tail feathers emerging from the mass of down, and although skeletal growth of the chicks generally finishes much earlier, the flight feathers will continue to grow even after they have left the nest. At a fortnight old, the chicks are now looking far more ‘owl-like', and will begin to exercise, preen and scratch much more. Head bobbing can also be seen – a technique used to gauge distance, and a skill they will need to thoroughly master before they begin hunting for themselves later in the year.

Three days after hatching, and providing the Robin chicks remain well fed, the appearance of quills all over their skin indicates that feather emergence should quickly follow. A couple of days further on will see the chicks' eyes also begin to open, and such is their rapid rate of development that by the tenth day their bodies will be more or less fully feathered. With the Robins at the point of fledging less than two weeks after hatching, a full brood will see the nest literally bursting
at the seams. Still devoid of the famous red breast until after their first moult, the heavily speckled youngsters will by now have learnt the art of crouching down and flattening themselves if danger threatens. But as soon as the coast becomes clear, they will instantly change their tune back to that of noisy beggars, with a sea of yellow gapes and cacophony of calls confronting any parent turning up with food.

Certainly in southern Britain, as April draws to a close most female Blue Tits should have laid close to their entire clutch, with incubating generally beginning just before the final egg is laid. As laying takes place, the female sheds feathers from her breast and belly to expose a large area of skin that becomes exposed, wrinkled and almost purple due to the rich supply of blood vessels running just below the surface. When this brood patch is combined with the insulating properties of the nest and feathers from around the bird's breast, which operate as a skirt to seal in the heat, this should easily provide sufficient warmth to incubate the eggs at the optimum temperature for their development.

Only too aware that the time for synchronised egg laying will be rapidly approaching, from securing a burrow and carrying out repairs, the male Puffin will turn his attentions to consummating the relationship with his mate. For established pairs, Puffin courtship may have begun even before the birds make their spring landfall, with most matings tending to take place on water. Invariably instigated by the male as the pair bob around like corks on the surface, he will make his intentions perfectly clear by flicking his head back amid a fluttering of wings. If the female is not interested she will constantly dive to keep him at bay, but if he catches her in
a more receptive mood, swimming low in the water will encourage the male to mount her as he uses his wings to balance. The coupling is once again a very brief affair, usually lasting less than 30 seconds, and afterwards the male will usually guard his female to ensure he is not cuckolded before his mate lays their single, precious egg in early May.

Arriving later than the males, most female Swallows will generally find a partner within three days of returning to their traditional nesting sites. However, the ‘fairer sex' can still be quite choosy and the male will need to use all his persuasive powers if a female is to select him for the breeding season. A good nesting location will play a large part in attracting a female, as will the male's looks, with Swallow researcher Angela Turner stating that ‘in Europe at least, males with longer tails are clearly the choice of discerning females'. The fussy females also seem to additionally prefer males with outer tail-feathers of the same length, those individuals with larger spots on their tail feathers and any with particularly bright red coloration in the face. In essence it seems in the world of the Swallow that long tails and bright colours are an indication of good health and also possibly more experience, as more sickly males will not have fed sufficiently well for the extravagant feather growth.

Reaching ‘first base' by securing a female's attention, the male will then make repeated flights up to his nest in an attempt to entice her into admiring his residence. If she is then enticed over for a closer inspection the male's next move will be to land close by in order to show off his fanned tail, while uttering notes of encouragement, as he attempts to seal the deal. In locations where a number of pairs may be nesting in a loose social flock, some particularly handsome and persuasive males may be able to secure two females to mate with, while short-tailed males may attract far less interest. For those males lucky enough to secure at
least one mate, the next job will be to either repair an old nest – should one still be present in a reasonable state – or alternatively start building a new one from scratch.

As the female Nightingales arrive back, they should already find their breeding grounds carved up into territories as the males implore the females to visit their own real estate. The male Nightingale is of course famous for singing both day and night, but exactly when their song is produced conveys a different meaning. The diurnal song is mainly directed at approaching rivals and associated with holding territory, while the nocturnal song is thought to be more of a long-distance advertisement to any females looking for a partner. During the day the males sing from several perches and regularly change position with the start of each song – this contrasts with the nocturnal song, which is usually delivered from one particular perch that may be favoured for several nights in succession.