This box was cleaned out early in October 2004 in preparation for next year. There were two unhatched eggs buried deep down in the nest.
All winter a blue-tit has been roosting in box 2. For the early part of the winter, there was a blue-tit roosting in box 1. I can only assume that something has happened to the bird which was roosting in box 1. Maybe one of the local cat population caught her unawares, or perhaps she just passed away through old age.
In previous years nest building has started early in April, but this year there was no activity until much later in the month. Follow her progress and see what develops.
Click on an image for a larger view.
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| 10 October 2004, the cleaned out box. | 7 January 2005, roosting every night. | 30 April, rather later than expected, but looks like the beginnings of a nest. | 30 April, rapid progress. |
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| 3May, roosting on the new nest. | 8 May, the first egg. | 13 May, 6 eggs visible. | 14 May, 7 eggs. |
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| 17 May, during a brief absence, 8 eggs visible. | 18 May, sitting the eggs. | 21 May, 9 eggs now. | 28 May, 5 chicks hatched this morning. |
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| 1 June, feeding a mealworm to hungry chicks. | 3 June, the previous evening, there was only one healthy chick. Sadly, this morning there was no evidence of any of the chicks or their mother. |
This has been another disappointing year; the chicks only survived five days. The nest was built and the eggs layed later than in previous years. There was no particularly cold weather, and a plentiful supply of mealworms was available. I don't seem to have much success! Never mind, that shows how sensitive small birds are to environmental factors. Hopefully, the webcam will be back again next year, when maybe we will have more success. In the meantime, if any suitable subject for the webcam becomes available, I shall set it up.
Page created 14 October 2004. Last modified 30 October 2006 .