Actually we were trying to thing of ways to make it easier for a volunteer fledge watch - but painting their tails (which are showing) means waiting for the paint to dry so that the feather doesn't stick together which would prompt more preening and then the paint is all gone. Also thought of putting colour on their aluminium band but again, don't want them eating it. If they were in the nestbox, I would probably have taken the time to paint their tails but on the ledge, just a bit too much time/too fiddley, so we will just have to find other ways to identify the chicks .
