As summer blooms, London’s parks and skies come alive with the drama of fledgling birds—clumsy, courageous, and utterly captivating. From the rooftops of Parliament to your own backyard, watch as young peregrines leap into their first flight, goldfinches master seed-eating, and swans fiercely guard their cygnets. But danger lurks at every turn—cats, crows, and sparrowhawks lie in wait. How do these vulnerable youngsters survive?
Return on June 11 to uncover the secret lives of London’s fledglings—their struggles, triumphs, and the surprising ways parents protect them. Don’t miss this intimate glimpse into nature’s most perilous and heartwarming season!
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Fledglings
Whereas May was predominantly a nesting month, June is one dominated by fledglings. At first their gentle cradle calls are heard whilst they are still in the nest. These are not so gentle in the case of blackbirds, starlings and woodpeckers. When the fledglings leave the nest we sometimes see them just sitting silently and gaping or shivering as they beg for food from their parents. This is the time when they are heavily predated by cats, jays, crows, squirrels and even in London by sparrowhawks. They then start to learn how to collect their own food. At this stage we often see them as awkward, comical and confused. Protective parents are never far away and their calls seem irritable and then later seem to show some relief at your departure.
There can be some coaxing to get fledglings to take their first flight. This is no surprise for young peregrines, whose nest might be on the top of the Victoria tower among the Houses of Parliament. Birds of prey and swifts leave the nest and are immediately competent fliers. Other birds, such as blackbirds, leave their nests much earlier and rely on their strong, perching feet to gain a safe hold till they are ready to fly. Most young are highly vulnerable at this stage, but young owls and other birds of prey are not afraid to use their powerful talons to protect themselves. Young starlings are particularly quarrelsome when following their parents and demand food both constantly and loudly. Goldfinches, which were fed in the nest on invertebrates, now follow their parents to thistle heads and learn the delights of eating seeds. Robins, when they are feeding their young, can quickly succumb to being hand fed and this in turn can be picked up by their fledglings
Some fledglings, such as owls and lapwings, are mere balls of feathers; others, such as coots, are comical with their bald heads and brightly coloured bills. Redshanks are even known to lift their young between their knees to overcome an obstacle in their path. Young waders have such absurdly long legs they seem unable to control them. Young goldfinches are amongst the most endearing as they are known to sit in a row together when they first leave the nest. Once swallows forsake their nests they continue to be fed either on telegraph wires or in the air, when they can appear to be ‘kissing’.
Considering swifts can fly at seventy miles per hour, we do not see them feeding their young; instead they follow their parents high into the sky and gape to collect aerial plankton.
On lakes and rivers, families of swans with their cygnets or ducks marshalling their young ‘flappers’ always draw comments.
Cobs and pens are fiercely protective and will rush towards any intruder with half open wings. The young cygnets seem to be unconcerned and whistle quietly to each other. Families of moorhens will all dive below the surface if there is any sign of trouble. Great crested grebes protect their young by carrying them on their backs. In gardens you can expect to see young great tits, hedge sparrows, wrens, goldfinches, magpies, house sparrows and in larger gardens possibly a spotted flycatcher. In woods it is worth looking and listening for young willow warblers.
Unlike most fledglings, which are dowdy, speckled versions of their parents in this case they are even more brightly coloured than their parents. In more open situations you can now expect to see large families of crows, rooks and starlings and with luck, in the right habitat, even partridges, wheatears and yellowhammers. Being less wary than their parents, it only takes a warning call for most fledglings to fly away or crouch and sit silently. It is even possible to walk around a lapwing chick as it will be frozen to the spot if its parents are calling in alarm from above.
By the end of June families may be coalescing into flocks. Crows, rooks and starlings are the first to be noticed. Parents are starting to shed their old greasy feathers and beginning to grow new ones. Drake mallards undergo one of the most dramatic colour changes; they become flightless, losing their emerald green heads, maroon breasts, white collars and black-curled tails. Now they look a dowdy, sepia colour rather like their partners.
