June is the time of year when many young chicks fledge their nests and perfectly coincides with Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust's 30 Days Wild challenge. The Trust is encouraging people to do something wild each day in June and watching the chicks can tick that box.
Many chicks will stay close to their nest while their parents continue to feed them until they are fully capable of looking after themselves. If you happen to see a baby bird out of the nest, Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust recommends leaving them alone and watching them from a distance.
You may be lucky enough to see the adults coming to feed it. This is a perfect example of a wild action during the 30 Days Wild challenge.
Read more: Get involved with 30 Days Wild this June - the UK's biggest nature challenge
Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust's Hattie Lavender had been keeping an eye on her nest box at home and saw a little chap peeping out. The blue tits soon fledged after she took the photo.
She said: “It was quite comforting to hear them cheeping when the parents came to feed them! But even better to know they fledged successfully.”
Birds will often have a number of broods of chicks each year during breeding season between March and September, so it is well worth considering putting up a nest box on your house to encourage swifts, swallows or house martins in your garden or for other birds such as robins, blue tits or wrens.
They may not nest in it this year if you pop one up now, but they will investigate it for nest potential in future. So, there is never a really bad time to put up a nest box and a perfect wild act to do for 30 Days Wild.
The Wildlife Trusts and RHS have provided a booklet to help you identify swifts, swallows and martins, as well as information on what we can all do at home to help these special birds such as provide appropriate boxes for them via their website.
