Afternoon everyone,
I hope that you are well.
On the day that Rob Yorke is encouraging people to vote Kingfisher for Britain's National Bird, over on Martin Harper's blog - I am excited to announce that our Kingfishers have hatched!
Adults start taking fish into the bank once that eggs have hatched, and that is what we have seen today!
Each chick can eat 12-18 fish a day, and are fed in rotation - once a chick is fed, it moves to the back of the nest to digest it's meal, causing the others to move forward.
Woohoo!
The best time to see the kingfishers is when they are feeding young as they can be in and out every ten minutes or so (when they're a little bigger) bringing in fish for the hungry young. At the moment the chicks will be very small so can't eat too many fish, but they'll grow quickly and soon be eating lots!
The chicks will stay tucked away safely in the bank for about 24-25 days, unless the fish supply is poor then it can be up to 37 days.
Stunning picture by Duncan Eames