The Caterpillar Service – Day Five
The caterpillars keep on coming. Beak-fulls of them.
Green ones, brown ones, grey ones and orange ones; they’ve all been carefully plucked from the leaves of the surrounding trees and bashed to stop them wriggling. Then they’re brought in on an ever-shifting flightpath to the nest hidden in deep bramble cover.
It’s such beautiful weather here and the sun is shining. Their usual flight-path is against the sun and my only clear vantage point is from the safe distance of a public footpath. People have been very kind, dogs are under control, and almost everyone has said hello and kept a safe social distance during the pandemic. It’s a shame it takes potential death from an invisible disease to make more people behave with friendliness and respect here.
As the sun arcs around over the course of the day I get my final chance of good light on a flight-shot.
It’s my favourite so far. The chicks hidden beneath must only have a few days to go before they fledge. Let’s hope they make it so everyone can enjoy them next year as well. With an expected life of just two years, it’s now or never for these parents and their extended family of carers.
More Long-Tailed Bushtits
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The Caterpillar Service – Day Seven Today the Long-Tailed Bushtits are working as hard as ever to gather invertebrates: After a week I'm much happier with… read more
The Caterpillar Service – Day Six Here's the scene next to a busy public footpath: It may appear tranquil but deep within the brambles is a… read more
The Caterpillar Service – Day Four It's Day Four of photographing Long-Tailed Bushtits for me. After all, what is there to do when I've got no… read more
The Caterpillar Service – Day Three It's Day Three of following the Long-Tail Bushtit family on waste ground near my house in South Devon. I say… read more
The Caterpillar Service – Day Two Yesterday I spent five hours on a public footpath overlooking a Long-Tailed Bushtits' nest. I'm happy that I wasn't disturbing… read more
The Caterpillar Service – Day One The call of the Long-Tailed Bushtit is quite distinctive. It must be, because even I can recognise it. 'Tsurp', they… read more