Starlings are gone

Earlier in the week I noticed that the Starling nest box was quieter than usual. I had a quick look in yesterday and got this photo.

7th May 2016

This was the sight on 7th May. As you can see, all 5 of the chicks were fully feathered and looking ready to go. I had another look on 11th, and found that 2 birds had fledged.

11th May 2016

When I got home tonight it was very quiet, and when I looked in the box I found this... an empty box!

12th May 2016

This is always a great sight, because it means all 5 of the chicks have fledged successfully. I haven't seen any of this year's birds in the garden yet, but hopefully I'll manage to see them over the next few days and weeks.

The details of this breeding success will now be added to the BTO's Nestbox Challenge website, and I'll let our data manager know that the ringed birds have fledged, just in case they  get reported elsewhere.