Sweet little baby birds

Watching birds on our bird feeders - like these pretty siskin on Andrew and Debbie Carter's - is one of the little delights that distract us from other less delightful goings on in the world

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​Young birds are at their sweetest when fully fledged, as in Abby's lovely photos - though feeding them at any age is a problem for parents or foster-parents, as in the case of the swift chick at the Wiltshire Wildlife Centre - Marilyn calls them 'little dinosaurs'!

Birds' nests are often nothing short of miracles of complexity combining aesthetics with practicalities such as insulation and water-proofing - Dick Budden's blackbirds, however, sadly ignored the mantra, 'location, location, location' when building in a woodstore during a freeze.

Izzy Fry's blog has photos of some exquisite nests.

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​Young birds can indeed be really sweet - but alas, because they're turfed out of the nest before they can fly, they're horribly vulnerable to predators.  Sometimes these are larger birds such as magpies but too often they're victims of our furry feline friends.  Cats.  

But at last, research has been published which has identified things owners of predatory cats (not all are) can do to minimise this distressing habit.  Full details on MoreNews.