A partridge in a bay tree

[Lotobear]

We discovered a partridge sitting in a bay tree planter next to our front door last Sunday. By Monday she had gone and there was a clutch of 14 eggs in a neatly made leaf lined hollow.

Not seen her since but noticed this morning that she now back and sitting.

Are the eggs likely to still be viable after this time? She could have been back intermittently or at night when we didn't notice her of course but until this morning I assumed she'd abandoned the nest.

[Lotobear]

Update, been there all day now but will the eggs be viable?

[hidetheelephants]

The internet says partridges take ~2 weeks to hatch so you don't have long to wait either way.

[Lotobear]

We have lift off

[Badda]

Wow, that’s extraordinary. If you’ve got kids I bet they’re excited.

[Simpo Two]

It might help if you didn't keep getting close to take photographs.

[Lotobear]

Simpo Two said:

It might help if you didn't keep getting close to take photographs.

Help what?

[Lotobear]

She left with her chicks overnight - what a racket!

Sadly there are around 5 left in the nest just clinging on to life - she possible suffocated/crushed them. But all hatched so 9 out of 14 is a not a bad return.

A bit sad about the weaklings but that's nature I guess and why they lay such a large clucth of eggs. No doubt some of the fledglings will be predated too.

[Mr Penguin]

They lay a lot of eggs to account for losses. Some birds will literally throw chicks out of the nest if it doesn't look like a goer, just to make sure the others can get better care.

[oddman]

Being a partridge parent is hard work. The young need a constant supply of insects and grubs.

Might be worth buying and chucking out some mealworms. She probably hasn't gone far.

[Lotobear]

She seems to have cleared off to a local field so she should be good for food sources as we are out in the country

Sadly we are also close to shooting estate so the outlook is a risky one for the poor buggers

[Lotobear]

Newsflash!

She's back and the chicks I thought were dead/dying are all up and looking healthy and fluffy! She's now trying to extricate them from the planter as the lip is a bit high.

So it looks like a 100% survival rate, ..at least for the moment.

[oddman]

Lotobear said:

Sadly we are also close to shooting estate so the outlook is a risky one for the poor buggers

She's a French Partridge so will have been released last year and, with Mr Partridge, beaten the odds (40% chance of being shot and about another 40% Mr Fox's dinner) to survive and breed.

[Lotobear]

oddman said:

Lotobear said:

Sadly we are also close to shooting estate so the outlook is a risky one for the poor buggers

She's a French Partridge so will have been released last year and, with Mr Partridge, beaten the odds (40% chance of being shot and about another 40% Mr Fox's dinner) to survive and breed.

I'm wondering if there is now an established or 'feral' colony as the estate seems to put down pheasant chicks but not partridges that I'm aware of.

I ended up putting a small ramp in the planter and thye are all out now. There was one that looked dead so I lifted it out and within 10 minutes it was fluffed up a cheeping - must have just hatched.

Mum's hanging about (looking thin) so hopefully they will be off to somewhere safe with food.