My nest cams offer me a window on to the hidden world of growing chicks and its been such fun to watch their most intimate moments: messy meals, sibling rivalry and all!
This video is particularly endearing as two kestrel chicks have a tug of war over their dinner!
These clips form part of my research into animal behaviour and inform my final paintings - in which I like to try to capture the individual character of a creature.
I painted this kestrel last year. Now that I have this new footage I think one of a kestrel chick would be a great new challenge.
My nest cams are so popular I've decided to extend my Easter Nest exhibition so that visitors to my gallery in North Yorkshire can watch as the eggs hatch and a new generation emerges in the garden this spring.
I have 12 secret cameras hidden in nest boxes in and around my garden and the grounds of my art gallery in North Yorkshire.
The images are then linked live to the exhibition space inside the gallery. So far the boxes are occupied by tawny owls, barn owls, kestrels, blue tits, wrens, blackbirds, robins, tree sparrows and even a pheasant hen.
This week two tawny owlets and a new brood of blackbirds hatched. Meanwhile the barn owls, robins and pheasant hen are all sitting on eggs.
It was incredible to see the moment the cameras first caught the adult tawny owl shuffling on top of a chipping egg and then later captured the first tiny owlet.The next day there were two!
The cameras have also recorded some really dramatic moments: including a brutal fight between a kestrel and a barn owl over one nest box.
The two birds of prey repeatedly lunged at each other in the battle, which was eventually won by the barn owl. The kestrel has meanwhile moved to another nest box behind the gallery.
I am sharing the best action on my website every day so that visitors can keep up to date with each bird's story.
This one shows the male blackbird bringing in a worm for his new brood which he unceremoniously dropped on Mrs Blackbird's head!
