I Film How Reed Warblers Work So Hard To Raise a Cuckoo Chick Discover Wildlife Robert E Fuller

Raising a cuckoo chick takes reed warblers twice as much time and a LOT more effort than bringing up four chicks of their own. In the final chapter of this story, I discover how, even when heavy rain pushes them to their limits, reed warbler foster parents never give up on their cuckoo chick imposter.

*ABOUT ME*
____________

I am a British wildlife artist and filmmaker on a mission to share my love for wildlife with the world. As well as creating detailed animal film and art portraits, I promote wildlife tours around the world and do all I can to help conserve and protect wildlife here at my home in Yorkshire. I hope that by putting nature in the frame I can foster a deep love for wildlife amongst my followers.

You may like to purchase my artwork: https://www.robertefuller.com. Many of my paintings are portraits of the characters you watch here!

You can also follow me on these platforms:
Website: https://www.robertefuller.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RobertEFullerArt/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RobertEFuller
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/RobertEFuller/
Or sign up to my newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/robertefuller/newslettersignup

*ABOUT THIS FILM*
_________________

Cuckoos v reed warblers
Cuckoo chicks rely on a host species to raise them. I found one after searching 15 reed warbler nests and I documented every moment as a pair of reed warblers raised it. Meanwhile I also followed a reed warbler nest where a pair were raising four of their own kind, recording the behavioural differences between the two sets of bird parents.

Different diets for different bird species
In the reed warbler nest, feeding four mouths was no easy feat. At four days old the chicks seem to be constantly hungry. Interestingly the parents delivered small insects, appropriate for their small-sized beaks. Meanwhile the cuckoo's foster parents were also hard at work, in this case bringing in larger insects like damselflies and even bumblebees - as though each menu had been carefully tailored to suit each chick.

Cuckoo call change
The chicks in both nests call out for their parents to feed them whenever there's any movement nearby. But at about 16 days old the cuckoo chick began to make a different sort of call. The sound, a 'cheeping' was intended to help the reed warblers locate it once it has left the nest. Once they arrived, the chick returns to its original 'begging' call.

Brooding chicks
The reed warbler chicks grow quickly and the female soon struggled to brood them all. When they are genuinely too big to brood she switched to sitting at the side of the nest. Meanwhile the cuckoo chick threatened to outgrow its nest at just one week old and by 16 days you could barely see the nest beneath it.

Chick feather development
Once they were no longer being brooded, the reed warblers begin to quickly grow their feathers, and over the course of just two days the difference was palpable - which was just as well because when bad weather hit they became vulnerable to cold.

Rescuing a reed warbler chick
In the end the storm didn't affect the brood of four, or the cuckoo chick, but another reed warbler nest in the reed bed collapsed and a tiny chick had fallen. I waited to see if the parent birds fed it where it was and when the chick seemed too cold to respond I picked it up and warmed it in my hands before putting it back in the nest.

Chicks fledge
At 11 days old, the reed warbler chicks fledged, making their way up through the reeds. But at this stage these young birds became very vulnerable and I watched kestrels circle overhead with concern. Thankfully the chicks survived and it was great to watch them practise their techniques. In a few weeks time these birds would make their long migrations back to Africa.
In contrast, the cuckoo left the nest at 18 days but it was by no means able to fly and thankfully landed in an old moorhen nest and not in the water below. As the cuckoo continued to gain confidence, the reed warblers continued to feed it, sometimes having to perch on its back to reach this giant chick!


#robertefuller #reedwarbler #cuckoo #birdwatching #discoverwildlife

*CHAPTERS*
___________

00:00 Intro
02:14 Feeding four reed warblers
02:59 Cuckoo chick diet
03:48 Brooding reed warblers
05:03 Bad weather hits
06:10 Rescue reed warbler chick
08:28 Reed warblers fledge
11:48 Cuckoo call
13:20 Cuckoo too heavy for nest
14:22 Cuckoo fledges
18:35 Reed warblers continue feeds
21:03 Looking back

________________

© Robert E Fuller

Copyright Disclaimer: Please feel free to share my videos but do not download any content without permission with the intent to re-upload. If you would like to license any content, please get in touch: [email protected]

Credits: Edit: Sam Kite, Oliver Riley-Smith. Camera: Robert E Fuller. Additional Cameras: Sam Kite, Gary Lawson, Will Mercer. Drone: Robert E Fuller