Local RSPB member Keith McCubbin from Orphir sent us these images of a Meadow Pipit feeding it's rather large chick! They say love is blind but this really is ridiculous. Taken from his kitchen window on the 4th August.
"I wonder where Ma is?"
"Ya beauty"
"Any more?"
Thanks to Keith for letting us share these images of what is a facinating bit of behaviour on our doorstep. Cuckoo's are fast declining in the UK so every chick reared is a potential step to recovery.During the spring of 2011 the BTO successfully caught and fitted five male Cuckoo with 5g satellite tags to track these birds once they leave the UK. We lack even basic information about the routes they take to Africa, when they arrive in their wintering grounds, the habitats they use and how they move around within Africa. This information is urgently needed to form conservation strategies and initiate action. The five males caught in the spring are all now back in Africa. You can follow there progress by clicking on this linkhttp://www.bto.org/science/migration/tracking-studies/cuckoo-tracking Good luck my friendAl