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Treecreeper splits
family |
07.08.1999 |
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Ó
Michael Woods |
We
say that children have flown the nest" when they have
left home. But most young birds still receive food from
their parents after they leave.
The
squeaky calls draw our attention as they wait for a meal
This is how I found a treecreeper family foraging among
birch trees. The single parent was finding it hard to keep
its two fledglings fed and I wondered where the other one was.
I have since learned that the female treecreeper tends the
brood, while the male starts building a second nest. Then he
takes over the brood so that the female can finish
nest-building and lay more eggs. Other species split the
family between parents.
Every year I watch a great spotted
woodpecker bring a youngster into the garden to feed it on
peanuts. It is usual for these woodpeckers to split the
brood between them but I had a letter from someone who had
seen both parents feed all their offspring.
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