Go to last entry of the month....................Go to previous entry
Mid-morning there was a twenty minute period during which there were three brief occasions when there were two birds in the box. There was no aggression between them, although the first one(A) one went into a slightly submissive crouched position when the second bird (B) entered. After a few moments the first bird left. This sequence happened several more times before noon, and at other times the other bird came to the entrance while one was inside. Although the video images are
not of good quality, it was possible to distinquish between the
two individuals. Bird A has a bolder eye-stripe behind the eye,
and its back/wings seem to show up as slightly darker. Significantly (I hope), a small amount of moss has appeared in the box today. Last year this first omen of things to come had occurred by the end of January.
An even more encouraging event occurred around lunchtime when bird B carried out a process that I first saw last year after the first nesting material was brought to the box. After spending some time inspecting the floor of the box she(?) went to the front right corner, lowered her front down onto the floor and, wings flapping shuffled diagonally across the box, pushing the moss into the corner where it was photographed tonight. Tonight I replaced the low resolution CCTV camera with a higher resolution one, so images should be clearer from now on.
On a bright sunny morning the female (I think) Blue Tit is spending a great deal of time in the box. Just before I started writing this she visited the mealworm feeder for a snack before returning immediately to the box. In the meantime the male has been spending much of his time singing in the trees. There is no sign of any moss being added so far this morning, but I have the video running just in case!
I would thoroughly recommend making the mealworm feeder to anyone. The Blue Tits loved it last year. It is based on a plan that can be found on an American birding site. (this will appear in a new window). The box has openings at both ends and I have hung weighted strings about a foot from each of them. These are used every time a bird visits the feeder. 
Around 12.30pm, after a prolonged inspection of the box the visitor decided to remove a coarse looking bit of moss (pictured,right). I noticed this behaviour a number of times during last year's nesting, but I can't suggest a reason for it. An hour or so later a replacement piece was brought into the box during what turned out to be the last visit of the day.
17 February - The return of cold weather seems to have reduced the level of activity in the box. The amount of material in the box seems unchanged, although I did see a piece of straw taken in and which has now disappeared again!
Whenever she(?) enters the box the bits of moss get moved around, sometimes accidentally but often deliberately by her.
As usual, things have gone quiet since around noon (it is 1.20pm now).
That session lasted about 20 minutes before all went quiet again, except for a brief moment when some Sparrows perched in the branches of the Birch tree and she guarded the entrance to the box. She repeatedly displayed with fanned out wings and tail, as though the Sparrows could see them through the wooden front of the box. The Sparrows ignored her, and did not seem interested in the box.
There was no sign of aggressive behaviour between them. The dark bands on the head of the male are much bolder than those on the female in these images. Click on the picture for a larger version. This afternoon what I think
was the female (video not running so I could not rewind and check)
came into the box, picked one of the largest bits of straw and
removed it from the box. I watched through binos as she preched
on the Birch tree and dropped it. It caught on a branch so she
picked it up again and dropped it a second time so it fell to
the ground.
Perhaps a bit early for exiting viewing, but I did not want to leave it until later in case I encountered problems that needed sorting.
The afternoon saw what amounted to a replay of yesterday's encounter with the male (? - right) entering the box, looking around and then dropping to the floor as the female entered. He left immediately with no aggression shown by either bird.
I also saw more of the large bits of straw removed and dumped outside. This is very puzzling. Has she changed her mind about it? Was it brought in by another bird? I don't think this was the case as I watched it being brought in and I am sure it was the 'owner' at work. By the end of the day there seemed to be only one 'large' bit of straw left in the box.
The picture shows the box tonight, emptied of nearly all of the straw we saw brought in just three days ago.
26 February - To start with, a note about the webcam. For some reason, the image available on the web seemed to stop refreshing at 3.14am this morning. My computer was uploading images without problem and they were getting to my site. I have got round the problem by changing the filename for the image. I hope this does not cause anyone problems. This morning we have seen a number of visits, including a prolonged rest period, although no new nesting material has appeared. This is hardly surprising as it has rained all night. The sun is shining now (at 10am) but we are getting occasional heavy showers and it is very windy.
The step forward today is a good sign.
She is using her feet to push the nest material into the corner of the box - as she left, she almost took the lot with her as it had caught on her foot! |
|
5
February - A lot of
activity today. The box was occupied for several hours in total
this morning and early afternoon. By 2.15pm the visits had stopped.
13
February - Back home
this afternoon after six days away, I eventually took a moment
to check this evening and found that in the last week several
pieces of moss have been added - things look really promising
now.
14
February - St Valentine's Day
On
one occasion she brought in what looked like a half-eaten peanut
(pictured left). She put it into a corner while she rested of
a couple of minutes before picking it up again and leaving the
box with it.
18
February - A sunny
start to the day has brought a slight increase in activity during
the morning. On two visits beakfuls of very fine grass were brought
in.
20
February - Over the
last two days activity has been limited in the box with just
a little bit more straw added.
21
February - What a difference
a day can make! After a quiet start to the day, with few visits
seen, there was a flurry af activity around noon when it seems
a source of dried grass(?) was too much to resist.
23
February - After a
bit of a technical problem was sorted, I set up the webcam last
night and it was still working this morning!
24
February - A cold, wet and thoroughly miserable day did not
encourage much in the way of activity.
27
February - A dry day
has seen frequent visits to the box. Around lunchtime, some moss
was brought into the box Unfortunately, I was out and the video
ran out of tape before the moss arrived. This image was captured
late in the afternoon.
28
February - A good number
of visits seen during the early morning. I have only seen one
piece of straw brought in so far but, as the picture (webcam
image 10am) shows she is in the mood for organising what is already
in the box.