Lucky Baby Blue Tit

They gave their position away in a gap in steam pipe lagging to me by incessant tweeting. As I stood there waiting to get a shot of one of their parents, a magpie landed on the roof of the propagating house, saw me and hurriedly left. It would have been so easy for it to have plucked one of the nestlings from the nest. I suppose the tweeting of the nestlings is like a crying baby to humans - a strong stimulus to nurture, even though that tweeting puts the baby birds at risk of discovery and predation.

I watched the dishevelled parent birds to and fro with beaks full of insects and caterpillars. Then I spotted a little leg dangling, closely followed by a dangling, pink, feather-budded body. I willed the nestling to climb back into the nest but to my horror it fell into a pile of plastic pot trays. I panicked as at first I couldn't find it. Once I'd located it, I grasped it in my hand and ran to the house. Its little heart and mine were beating overtime. I grabbed a tall pair of steps and ran with them back to nest and replaced the bird.

All was quiet. Had I done the right thing? Would my action endanger the remaining chicks? Would the parents desert? I was so relieved when one of the parents returned. I've since discovered from looking at my pics on screen that one of the adult birds is disabled, with one foot much bigger than the other. 

Spring is a wonderful time of year but is fraught with danger for wildlife. I've added a pic of the dangling chick to extras.