To celebrate Australia day, the local council decided to deal with the Menace Of Peewees by chopping down a tree.

And as is traditional with events like this, Someone has to look after the chicks.

So...

This morning I opened the peewee's cage and let them go. The three little birds wandered around on the lawn for a few minutes, realised there were no bars and flew up into the sycamore. They were joined by the young blackbird I raised and released earlier. He'd hung around, begging for food and generally looking for a way back into the cage with the peewees.

At the moment they're testing their wings and getting used to the sudden space. I expect them to turn up tonight and start making "feed me" noises at me.

The three youngsters (plus one) aren't Made Birds yet. I fully expect the local mafia to start hunting them off soon. I'll provide protection if I can but that will only last for as long as they hang around the back door. After that, they're on their own.

So. Hooray!