They started to become too big for their little nest and it was obvious they would be leaving it soon. I had hoped I would be there to see their inaugural flight, and both D and I happened to be outside yesterday morning when one plopped itself out of the nest, fluttered about clumsily between branches for a few minutes and then wooosh - onto the roof of our neighbour's shed where Mummy and Daddy Wagtail were waiting.
All three of them took their flight, the third one ending up grounded against our fence and despite constant encouragement from Mummy Wagtail it wasn't managing to take flight without running into the fence and being knocked to the ground again. Things just got worse when it ended up stuck in a narrow corridor between the fence and our shed, the poor thing was a goner, and by it's fretful little chirps I could tell he knew it too. Ouch, I couldn't watch, and D couldn't watch me watch, so under his instruction I went inside and left things to my more pragmatic half.
D successfully assisted little 'number three' out from between the fence and the shed with the help of a broom handle, and with a wider berth he was able to fly to where Mum was waiting. He isn't out of the woods yet, as D noticed he has a deformed leg, but hopefully he will defy the odds and live a long and happy Wagtail life.
