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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
Kate Bradbury

Country diary: Gripped by the fledging of baby great tits

Four great tits on a branch
Great tits are woodland birds that have readily adapted to man-made habitats to become familiar garden visitors. Photograph: Arco Images/Alamy

In the garden, I sit on the bench, surrounded by alliums, poppies, buttercups and cranesbills. There are buzzing bees, holly blue butterflies, tadpoles, a squirrel “singing” from the top of the fence. And, finally, there’s a baby great tit in the rowan tree.

I have been waiting for the great tits to fledge for the last few days. They started nest-building in late March, gathering twigs, moss and fluff from my garden and surrounding ones. Then mating and egg-laying commenced, during which time the female usually lays an egg each morning before spending the day with her mate.

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