CHICKS FLY THE NEST THANKS TO ‘MUMMY BIRD’ GRACE (13)
A MILESTONE event occurred in Enniscorthy recently when the final three goldcrest chicks, out of five saved by a local mother and daughter, flew the nest.
Heather Cox and her daughter, Grace Deacon, came to the aid of the chicks after their nest fell out of a tree.
Heather said it was her 13-year-old daughter who initially rescued the chicks.
‘Grace rescued the baby birds as their nest had fallen out of the tree,’ she said.
‘ They were tiny when she found them, and they were cold and floppy,’ she added.
Heather said they first put the nest back in the tree on a lower branch hoping the chicks’ mum would find them but she didn’t.
‘ They weren’t calling her either so then we took them in and Grace became ‘mummy bird’,’ said Heather.
It proved to be a master-stroke because the next day the chicks began chirping and opening their mouths for food.
‘Grace fed them every 30 to 45 minutes and gradually they became stronger,’ said Heather.
Eventually, they were strong enough to put outdoors inside the cat box – especially as the weather has been very pleasant.
‘Suddenly, their calls and chirping were answered by both parents and then they began feeding them,’ said Heather.
Remarkably, while keeping a check on their progress, Heather recorded the parent birds feeding the chicks 196 times over a six-hour period.
‘ They were returning to feed them every two-and-a-half minutes,’ said Heather.
The efforts of Heather and her daughter over the last fortnight, the chicks were discovered on May 11, culminated in them taking to the air on Saturday, May 23.
The majority of people rarely get to see goldcrests up close because they are very small, and extremely quick birds, so it was a fantastic experience for Grace.
However, as Heather pointed out, she has grown up around wildlife and was delighted to be able to help the chicks survive.
‘She often helps look after the animals at Wells House and gardens and they gave us some mealworms to feed the birds too which was much appreciated,’ said Heather.
‘When the last three chicks were in the tree we still gave them food as well and then the mum called them from the tree opposite and the three of them flew,’ she added.
‘ They are still around though because we can hear them in the trees so they didn’t go too far away.’