The Dunnocks have made their nest in the big fat fir tree beside the pond at the top of the garden this year and they now have the four chicks shown in the above picture. I was doing jobs quite close to the nest-site for most of the afternoon, such as mowing the lawn and planting stuff in and around the pond, but probably because I’m a familiar sight to them, the parents took no notice of me whatsoever.It was later, when I was absolutely certain that both adult birds were foraging for food scraps beneath the feeders at the front of the house, that I gently parted the branches of the tree and took this single photograph.The Great Tits meanwhile, have taken up residence for the third year in a row in the hollow roof space of the larger bird-table situated no more than three metres from the Dunnocks. I noticed that the female Great Tit (GTi) sat on the eggs the entire time I was out there while the male (GT) returned at regular intervals to both feed her and keep a watchful eye on me….and also on Tess who was in the garden with me throughout.