The final chapter (black redstarts)

Yesterday the black redstart chicks in their nest and today an empty nest.

I venture out just after seven this morning and the first thing I see is a young black redstart perched on a fence. I inspect the nest and find it empty, the rest have already flown. I spot another one being tempted with food by an adult. I am lucky as any later and I may well have missed this moment. I find it rather profound that after all the work of building the nest and feeding the young, they all leave never to return. Maybe there is something to be learned about life from that.

Well, this young redstart made it out of the nest to a nearby fence. Cheer up! Meanwhile below the adult redstart tempts the another fledgling with food as they stand on the edge of a balcony with a long drop into the valley below.

They were not the only young birds I came across this morning. Below a number of young nuthatches were playing with each other on tree branches.