it's that time of year when I'm prone to going a bit 'gooey' in the garden, a bit maternal, because there are baby birds popping out everywhere who just look like they need a good cuddle.
So this pair, huddled together on a branch of my spruce tree, were bound to set me off.
But what were these two little fluffballs with their stubby little wings?
See if you can work out what they are from the other side...
Aren't they just the cutest things?! But you're very much forgiven if you can't work out what they are.
Here's the next clue, when one of their parents dropped in to give them a mini-insect snack, here launching themself off like Superman/Wonderwoman to go and find some more baby food.
They are baby Goldcrests, totally lacking the dark-bordered golden crown stripe of the adults.
I blogged about my garden Goldcrests back in April when a male was singing daily from the spruce tree, but I hadn't expected he and his mate to nest just five feet off the ground where one of the lower limbs of the spruce hangs over the path to my greenhouse. So, if you've never seen a Goldcrest nest before, here it is:
Not at all obvious, is it? The beauty with spruce, even though it is a non-native tree, is that not only do its needles harbour a host of insects for Goldcrests (and Coal Tits) to glean, but the sprays hang down either side of the branch like a tent.
So, let me part those sprays a little (after the chicks had fledged, I hasten to add) so you can see the nest suspended within:
Even now it is hard to see, so well bound it is within the needles. The top of the nest is just to the right and below my forefinger, the bottom of it above and to the right of my thumb. Somehow, with their tiny bills, the Goldcrests manage to effectively weave their nest in place. Amazing!
Now you may not have baby Goldcrests in your garden, but I bet you've got maybe baby Blackbirds or House Sparrows, Robins or Starlings. Next year, should they survive, they will be breeding themselves, but now their task is to learn very quickly about the exciting, complex, rewarding and - yes - very often dangerous garden world they have emerged into.
While being ever so cute, of course!
If you want to drop by my RSPB wildlife gardening blog, it is updated every Friday, and I'd love to see you there - www.rspb.org.uk/community/blogs/hfw
Such wonderful pictures! How these birds weave such complex structures is really mind-blowing. I have fledgling blackbirds, sparrows, robins, and starlings (as you guessed people might!) which are just wonderful to watch. Hopefully in the future I'll get more and more species making the garden their home :)