Chick harvest takes flight

Colin Smale celebrates summer as fledglings get set to spread their wings.

As spring melts into summer, Lincolnshire’s skies and hedgerows are alive with the flutter and flurry of fledglings. June and July mark a crucial time in the county’s wildlife calendar — the great spring harvest of chicks. 

After weeks of frantic feeding by tireless parents, countless young birds are now leaving the nest, taking their first steps or flights into the wider world.

Across Lincolnshire’s rich patchwork of farmland, fens, woodlands, and coastal habitats, new life is everywhere.

Blue tits, robins, and blackbirds — staples of our gardens — have raised broods in hedges and nest boxes, their young now bouncing awkwardly among branches or begging noisily on the lawn.

In the wetlands, reed warbler and sedge warbler chicks eagerly await their parents’ return with yet more food to strengthen them for the next stage in their lives when they must leave the shelter of the reeds and test their wings above the waterways.

Season of renewal
Barn owl chicks are slipping from darkened barns into moonlit fields, learning to hunt the small mammals that make up their diet. Along the coast, little terns (now one of our rarest birds) and avocets are part of Lincolnshire’s important coastal breeding species, whose parents are introducing their chicks to their very different environment.

This period is one of excitement but also danger. Fledglings are vulnerable to predators, traffic and bad weather. But they’re also resilient. With each day, they grow stronger, their calls bolder, their flights more sure.

For nature lovers, this is a wonderful time to explore the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust’s reserves and countryside paths. Look closely, listen carefully, and you may catch a glimpse of a young life just beginning its journey — a reminder that Lincolnshire’s wild heart beats strongest in the season of renewal.

Please remember to keep dogs on leads and give young birds plenty of space. The future of our feathered residents depends on it.

To find out more visit www.lincstrust.org.uk

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