BLUE TITS (55) ONE NIBLET FLEDGES!!!

I am at work again now.
I did manage to get a few hours kip this afternoon, woke and showered, went outside into the garden at 17:30pm to find Anna in the garden, keeping a vigil on the box - she'd got back from work a few minutes earlier.

I'd missed about 3 hours of 'Box Action', so didn't know if any of the chicks had fledged - but it was clear there was still a number in the box.

Scargill and Anne were making regular trips back to the box, and also calling their chicks out, from their tree (that had been lopped, earlier in the day, remember).

At 17:45 we witnessed a (what we think was the FIRST) chick haul up to the opening, and struggle through, and then launch himself into the air to join his parents in the tree!
ONE HAD GONE!!! HOORAY!!!
He was a right little niblet - all fluffy and yellow, with a bit of a punk's crest - and managed to take his first flight in a very impressive manner. I thought he might weakly parachute to the ground or our fence, but NO - straight over two gardens to his parents' favourite tree. Good job little fella!

We spent the next two and a half hours (ish) hoping that the others would join him. NB. It should be noted here that I/we are not positive he was the first to fledge - he was just the first we saw fledging. That said, we think he was the first to go - we KNOW 2 or 3 chicks were still in the box after he went - we could hear them.

Unfortunately. we didn't see another chick leave. One was very tempted, and his parents were trying their best to call him out - at one point Anne alighted on the chopstick with a caterpillar in her beak - the chick stuck his head out of the opening and begged for the food - at which point Anne turned around on the perch and turned her back on the poor little niblet! AnnA was watching this scene though our telescope at close range, and remarked that when this happened, the little chick looked very ashamed and downhearted!

We didn't even see the fledgling return to the garden in those two hours or so. Shame.

It must be very daunting for these chicks. Their only view of the world for the last (their only) 19 days has been a bright circle in their dark box - though which their parents would arrive with food.
Suddenly they pluck up enough courage to look out of the circle - and WOW! What a HUGE world! And it's all green and brown - not just blue or grey!

I took a load of shots of (I presume) the first chick to fledge this morning. He was in the opening for 10 minutes or so, taking it all in - looking at the screaming Swifts overhead, the trains on the railway, me, everything! It was really quite sweet. You could almost feel his excitement and wonder at his first views of his new world. I will endeavour to print these photos as soon as possible, and put the best on "Blue-Grey" asap.
I have decided not to try to take any photos of the chicks ACTUALLY fledging... I want there to be no distractions for the nervous little niblets, so we are watching now, from a distance.

As for the remainder of the chicks - they'll spend the night in the box without their parents or braver (older?) sibling. I'm sure they'll be fine, Scargill and Anne will be back at dawn to call them out and I expect them to go early in the morning (tomorrow, wednesday (the day I predicted almost 3 weeks ago!))
I think I'll miss the others fledge - I'm positive they won't spend another night in the box now!

I hope Anna sees them fledge before she sets off for work tomorrow, she's picking up some more Mealworms for the sieve in the afternoon, to try and keep the niblets in the garden for a wee while longer for photo opportunities.

We're going to miss them quite badly you know...!