I am seeking advice. Outside my classroom, I have had a bird box that was at last used by nesting blue tits. It has been wonderful watching all the acct these past few weeks and the nesting pair have been completely unperturbed by the noisy children, often swooping in right their heads with beaks full of worms to feed their chirping babies. However, on Friday (thankfully after the children left at the end of the day, the babies fledged only to be picked off one by one by a crow It was awful to watch the parent blue tits chasing after the crow with their babies in its claws. One baby scurried into my classroom for cover, so I can only hole this one manages to survive I know this is all part of nature, but I can’t help burly think these babies didn’t stand a chance as the nesting box in located onto the playground d with no cover close by. My instinct is to ask is the nesting box can be relocated near our wooded area so if we are lucky enough have nesting birds agiain, the babies will at least have some cover before they gain their ability to fly away. If this is the case, I will need an expert source to confirm this as I know I will be faced with the argument what it is more beneficial for the children to experience the watching with birds so close up. Being so exposed. I think any future babies wi t even have the chance of survival. Many thanks for advice
Always such a sad event to witness but of course happens often as the predating birds have their own young to feed! There's no guarantee that the birds will be any safer from predation if nestbox is placed in trees but definitely worth a try as the fledglings will benefit from the cover ... as to the children being able to watch, could you not invest in a nestbox with a camera inside so that the whole brooding/ hatching/ fledging could be observed by them!
2013 photos & vids here
eff37 on Flickr