The mistle thrush family on a busy road junction in Leeds (Picture: SWNS)

Amazing footage shows endangered birds feedings their chicks – in a city centre traffic light.

The Mistle thrush family appear to have made the ingenious home on a road in Leeds and at least four chicks, which hatched during Storm Dennis, are now being fed there.

Bird-lover Paul Wheatley spotted the animals nesting in the unusual surroundings, not far from the city centre, and began filming them going about their business.

He used a telescope attached to his iPhone to zoom in to capture their daily life – and was standing on the other side of the road while recording the film.




In it, the scrawny babies open their mouths in anticipation as their parents take it in turns to deliver grubs, worms and other insects.

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The nest has been made in the amber light – with Paul joking that the family are not ‘badass’ enough to have picked the red one above and suggesting that they could have been attracted by warmth from the equipment.

It is made of a cluster of leaves and twigs on a visor below the middle light at the top of the metal structure.

The chicks’ arrival is thought to be about six weeks early, amid wintry conditions far worse than might be expected in early spring.

Mistle thrush are among some of Britain’s most endangered British birds, according to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), which has placed the animals on its highest priority ‘red’ list for conservation needs.

Similar to a Song thrush or a Fieldfare, the birds are pale, black-spotted, aggressive and powerful, the RSPB say.

The cosy nest has attracted attention from passersby (Picture: SWNS)

A chick gets a morsel at its well-lit home (Picture: SWNS)

The nest is home to at least four chicks (Picture: SWNS)

When flying, the birds – also known as Stormcocks – have long wings and whitish edges on their tails.

Paul, 44, loves birds and also volunteers 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.’

Twigs, soil and moss have been collected and assembled around the light’s covering (Picture: SWNS)

One Mistle thrush baby opens its mouth for food (Picture: SWNS)

Video footage shot on an iPhone gives a snapshot into the family’s life in the light (Picture: SWNS)

Dozens of passersby and motorists have been spotted inspecting the nest, which sits at the centre of a busy junction close to 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.’

The birds get their name from their love of Mistletoe and usually incubate their eggs for around two weeks, before they hatch.

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