A bird-lover managed to capture the amazing sight of endangered birds feeding their chicks…in a traffic light.
You can see the adorable sight for yourself here:
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Video credit: Rumble
The mistle thrush birds made a home for themselves on a traffic light in Leeds with four chicks being hatched during Storm Dennis. Paul Wheatley, a bird-lover, caught sight of the nest near the city center and started filming them as they went on their business as if there was nothing unusual going on.
He attached a telescope to his iPhone so that he could film them close up while standing on the other side of the road. The chicks had their mouths open in anticipation of the treats their parents were about to give them.
The nest was in the amber light and Paul joked that it’s because the birds weren’t ‘bad*ss’ enough to choose the red one above. He also suggested that the warmth from the lights must have attracted the birds. Experts say that the birds may have been six weeks early with the weather being worse than what it should be for early spring.
The mistle thrush is one of Britain’s most endangered birds, said the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).
The organization has even put the animals on the top of its ‘red’ list for conservation needs. They are similar to the Song thrush or the Fieldfare with pale colors and black spots with an aggressive and powerful nature. The birds, also known as Stormcocks, have long wings with whitish edges on their tails.
Paul, 44, is also a volunteer at the RSPB’s local nature reserve, St. Aidan’s.
He explained: ‘It’s all done on my iPhone, which I attach to a telescope. It gives your iPhone 70 times the zoom.
‘The birds, sit and watch and wait for the traffic to stop because they’d get taken out by a bus.
‘It’s amazing how they’ve adapted to that urban environment.’
The nest has also caught the attention of passersby and motorists with some of them stopping to inspect the nest. The traffic light is on a busy intersection near Leeds Beckett University.
Paul continued: ‘It seems to be a popular place for them to nest. It’s a nice ledge and seems to keep the weather out and maybe it’s warm too.
‘There are constantly cars going past during the day.’
RSPB Wildlife Advisor Charlotte Ambrose said: ‘With the weather turning dramatically for much of the UK over the winter, it’s very unusual for these birds to set-up nest in traffic lights, so this is certainly not creating a stormcock in a teacup.
‘What’s even more bizarre is the fact that we’re seeing nesting more than a month earlier than usual as there have been unseasonably high temperatures, despite storms Ciara, Dennis, and Ellen.
‘These weather conditions are having a detrimental effect on our wildlife as eggs are being laid earlier in the year, and summer migratory visitors are arriving earlier and leaving later.’
She continued: ‘The State of Nature report released in October showed more than 41% of UK species are in serious decline and as nature is falling silent around us, it’s never been more important that we all help give nature a home.’
Their love of Mistletoe has given the birds their name and their eggs usually incubate for about two weeks before hatching.
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