Nest Of Baby Blue Tits Have A Narrow Escape After East Sussex Tree Felled

A nest of five baby blue tits in East Sussex had a very narrow escape when their tree was cut down by a chainsaw — missing their heads by about 1cm.

Duty Rescue Co-ordinator, Kristy Sayer from East Sussex Wildlife Rescue & Ambulance Service (WRAS), said: 

“We received a call on Thursday afternoon to say a nest of birds had been found after cutting a tree down on a property at Sedlescombe near Hastings. We sent one of our veterinary ambulances to the scene to assess the young and their condition.”

WRAS Rescuers Hev Clarke and Sandra Furner attended on site and were presented with a round of the tree trunk which contained the nest of blue tits. 

“We were amazed at how close the saw blades must have come to the youngsters. Sadly there were signs that one may have perished but the five in the nest were extremely lucky and very narrowly missed the saw. If they had raised their heads up or the saw had be placed just 1cm lower they would all have been killed,” said rescuer Hev.

A tree surgeon was undertaking the work on a property in Sedlescombe had undertaken checks to look for birds nests, but had no idea that there was a nest inside the tree trunk. They contacted WRAS as soon as they were discovered.

The nest of five nestling blue tits were taken to WRAS’s Casualty Centre at Whitesmith in the middle of East Sussex and transferred into one of WRAS’s incubators in the charities newly expanded Orphan Rearing Unit.

They will now be hand reared by WRAS’s Care Team staff and Orphan Rearing volunteers being fed every 15 minutes from 7am 'til 10pm.

“This is a timely reminder that at this time of year birds are nesting everywhere. It really isn’t a good time of year to be cutting down trees or removing bushes although we appreciate that when there is a danger of a tree falling or is diseased then more urgent action is sometimes needed. 

"It is essential that trees and bushes are checked thoroughly and not to forget that holes in tree trunks are often used by not just woodpeckers but other smaller birds like blue tits and robins,” said WRAS founder Trevor Weeks MBE.

East Sussex WRAS is one of the South East’s biggest wildlife rescue centres and is well established and constantly expanding its facilities to help cope with the every increasing workload from gulls, pigeons, birds of prey, garden birds, waterfowl and hedgehogs, rabbits, foxes, bats, badgers and more.

“Our staff and volunteers are work really hard at this time of year and we have over 250 casualties in care at the moment,” said Trevor.

East Sussex WRAS is registered with the fundraising regulator and has been a registered charity since 2005, and is welcoming donations to help funds it every increasing workload.

Donations can be make by calling 01825-873003 or online at www.wildlifeambulance.org