Worldwide focus on blue tits

A brood of blue tit chicks which have attracted attention from around the world are set to fly the nest – live on a webcam set up to capture the early days of their life at a country park.

The chicks have become the centre of attention at Severn Valley Country Park at Alveley since they were born earlier this month.

Park staff installed a webcam in the birdbox so visitors and people around the world could follow their progress.

People from as far away as California have been emailing to the park to say how much they have enjoyed watching the chicks grow.

Eight out of the ten eggs hatched.

The tiny camera is hidden in the roof of the box so it does not disturb the birds.

The chicks are now almost full size and they are expected to leave the nest at any moment.

Live images and sound are also being shown in the Visitor Centre at the country park so anyone going along during opening hours can watch continuous coverage from the nest. The park's countryside ranger Ed Andrews said: "It has been absolutely wonderful to be able to watch the blue tits raise their chicks.

"We are all very excited about the fledglings preparing to leave the nest.

"We are hoping that either the same blue tits, another nesting pair, or maybe even a wren might take up the box again to rear a second brood so we can watch it all again."

Pictures from the Shropshire nest can be found being broadcast on www.bridg north.gov.uk/birdbox.

The image is updated every five minutes.

Blue tits can lay up to eight eggs which take around two weeks to hatch.

Both parents work hard to feed the chicks with insects and grubs. They normally nest in any suitable hole in a tree, wall, or stump but are one of the few birds that like an artificial nest box.

But they often have to compete with house sparrows or great tits for the site.

The same hole is returned to year after year and when one pair dies another takes possession.

Their life expectancy is only around 18 months. The blue tit is one of the most common and popular European garden bird, due to its perky acrobatic performances when feeding on nuts or suet.

The song period lasts almost all the year round, but is most often heard during February to June time during the breeding season.

The blue tit is widely and abundantly distributed over most of Britain.

It does not live in bare uplands and outlying islands of the North Western Britain.

It lives in deciduous and mixed woodland, gardens, parks and hedgerows.

Meanwhile, staff at Worcester Woods country park in Worcester have been kept in suspense trying to work out which bird has laid eggs in its special nest cam.

Staff and visitors have been playing watch the birdie since the end of March after seven eggs were laid in the nest. Visitors have been able to observe the birds building their nest, laying eggs and can now experience the eggs incubation via the egg cam.

The nest is wired to a CCTV monitor and both blue tits and great tits visited the nest leaving everyone puzzled as to the eggs' ownership.

As the battle progressed, the blue tits pushed the great tits out of the nest and started sitting on the eggs.

Staff believe that there could be a mix of both species eggs – which would be a first for the country park.

The eggs are due to hatch at any time but it is likely that the parents will raise them all as their own any way.