A pair of Blue Tits is currently raising a family in the barrel of Mudchute’s restored Ack Ack Gun.
Mudchute was a part of the Home Front during the Second World War, helping to defend London and its docks against German bombing by housing a set of anti-aircraft guns. With the assistance of a generous grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, one of these gun sites, complete with its anti-aircraft gun, or Ack Ack Gun, was restored in 2012.
Now the Blue Tits have found a more peaceful use for the gun. The lovely photo above, by Richard Saville, shows one of the adults leaving the nest after feeding the young.
You can read more about Mudchute’s wartime heritage on the Mudchute website.
Update 16 May 2019:
The brood of young Blue Tits successfully fledged from the nest this morning, despite the attentions of a potentially-predatory Great Spotted Woodpecker. The photo below, also by Richard Saville, shows the last young chick leaving the nest.
