Starling nest update

Back on the 19th May I blogged about a pair of Starlings that were using a nestbox on the side of my house (see here). On that date, the female bird was sitting on the nest. Since then there have been some developments, so I thought I'd update everyone with the progress.

On 24th May I looked inside the box, and this is what I saw:

Starling eggs

 

... four eggs!

 

I went away for the week (more about that later I'm afraid!), and when I got back yesterday I spotted one of the adult birds entering the box with some food. I had a quick check again today, and was greeted by these "beauties". There are at least three chicks, possibly four, so I'm keeping everything crossed that the weather plays ball for the next few weeks.

Starling chicks

 

As I said in my last post, this nest is being monitored as part of the BTO's Nestbox Challenge, so I'll enter the details and, if the chicks survive, ring them.