#dunnocks

[antiqueanimals]

Birds from Moidart and Elsewhere: Drawn from Nature. Written and illustrated by Jemima Blackburn. 1895.

Internet Archive

[benvironment]

Dunnockcam isn't giving the sharpest images just now, as there a few objects between the camera and the bird that are affecting the focus. Nevertheless, you can definitely see she is still there, on the 8th day of incubating. I still don't know whether she laid a fourth egg though as I haven't been around to watch if and when she has stood up.

I probably won't be able to sneak another look till next week now, which means there *should* be some fairly large chicks for the next update :)

[catalogue34-blog]

Even in the driving rain.

..spring is relentless. It's helped by working on a magazine called the spring issue, and watching Shetland which reminds me of long days and short nights. And even though I did a run through the driving rain, accidentally splashing in puddles deeper than I imagined and sliding around like a fool on the mud... The sky wasn't completely black, the waterfowl were a bit more... absent than they have been, the daffodils are still shooting ever upwards and the dunnocks are chasing each other quite lustily, and not just over the food.

[antiqueanimals]

The Natural History of the Garden. Written by Michael Chinery. 1978.

[benvironment]

Another day, another egg in the dunnock nest :) I'd expect another tomorrow, followed by immedite incubation.

[benvironment]

The christmas tree came down at the start of March, after which I put it outside.....and having just got back from the Cairngorms and taking a look at the tree this morning, I'm excited to see that dunnocks are nesting in it again.

As I've been away I've missed the nest building stage and the first egg being laid, but the birds tend to lay one egg per day, which means the first was likely laid yesterday. Usually she lays four, but only three of them tend to hatch.

The timing changes slightly each year but it's always in April that this all happens up here. Going back through the last four years respectively, the 2nd egg has been laid on 25th, 9th, 17th and 17th April. So 14th is well in the mix. I'll put the nest camera out this afternoon before she starts incubating, so should get some good footage again :)

[benvironment]

Oh I forgot to post this pic last week. When I came home after ten days away in the Cairngorms, I hoped there might still be some dunnock chicks to see but the nest was empty. Hopefully all three fledged successfully :)

[benvironment]

The dunnock chicks were looking healthy today. It'll be ten days before I see them again though, so they may well have fledged by the time I get home.