Treecreeper

 Treecreeper, Toft, During May 2024 © Ed Gill

'I found the nest hole in a willow at the end of April and followed the pair from incubation through busily feeding the young - I made a count of 60 feeds in two hours at one point! There was a variety of different prey brought in; lots of spiders including many walnut orb, crane flies, several caterpillars, a few large grubs and the occasional moth.

After putting in many hours of observation, I was lucky to see five healthy chicks fledge at 12:10 on the 20th - approximately 18 days after hatching, which seemed to be quite long based on the 15-17 day estimates that I have seen. They surprised me by leaving the nest hole very rapidly with little sign of movement or flapping at the entrance beforehand.

 It was an absolute delight to follow the family and I was very pleased when I returned three days later to discover the five chicks cuddled together high up in an oak tree! This was the fourth nest that I have seen at this location but the first one I have been able to follow so closely and be rewarded with seeing the actual fledging.' EG