I returned later in the morning to hopefully catch sight of the newly fledged babies. They left the burrow just after dawn this morning and for the next few days they are going to be reliant on their parents to feed them. In just a few days, once they have gained the necessary skills, in fact even before they have honed these skills with certainty, they will be driven out of the nest territory to fend for themselves. It seems quite extraordinary that adult Kingfishers expend so much of their energy, in fact half of their short lives is taken up rearing youngsters only to drive them from the territory very early in the youngsters lives. Mortality in newly fledged Kingfishers is high. Unfortunately there was no sign or sound of either the adults or babies which makes me realise how lucky I had been to see them this morning. The adults appear to be well away from the nest and I assume the babies are with them.