Red kite tumble

We've had a bit of a drama with the red kite's nest in my parents back garden.

The smaller of the two chicks, a couple of days ago

The smaller of the two chicks fell out of the nest at some point Tuesday night or Wednesday morning (when it was very rainy and chilly). He was found sitting in the middle of the lawn, looking very wet and cold.

He looked very sorry for himself as he was soaked through and was too young to fly, so wouldn't have been able to get back up into the nest. He was a 'sitting duck' and the neighbours cats were already lurking in the bushes, so Mum carried him indoors and he sat on their kitchen table while they tried to decide what to do with him. One foot seemed to have been damaged in the fall and he wasn't using it at all. Later that morning the sun came out, so they put him on a bench on their patio to warm up and his parents both came and sat in the nearby trees and 'talked' to him.  

My parents called Tiggywinkles, which is a very well known wildlife hospital only 15 minutes away from them, to ask what to do with him. They said to bring him in and they'd make sure his foot was OK, give him pain killers if needed, then look after him until he was old enough and strong enough to be released. If he had damaged himself so badly that he couldn't be released, they'd care for him permanently.

All a big sad really, but at least he has a chance of making it back to the wild. He will probably be able to fly within about a week, so fingers crossed he makes it.

Unfortunately I missed the whole thing, as I was out all day on a school trip, so I have no photos of the drama!

The older chick is doing well and the parents have been trying to encourage him to fly around the garden. He flies from one tree to another, then goes back to the nest for a snooze and some food. He spends the rest of the time sat on one of the branches outside the nest. Won't be long now until he flies off for good.

The elder of the two chicks