Blue Tit
Nest Box Camera

2008

Here we go....
(Check the Home page to see when this was last updated,
the pink writing!)

There are possibly three blue tits around the garden at the moment. They have been briefly examining the boxes in the garden. When anything exciting happens, it will be uploaded here. In the meantime, lets hope they pick the correct box!

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07, 08, 09

07, 08, 09

03/03/08	Sorry there hasn't been an update in a while. We haven't had much to report. There's been a Great Tit and a pair of Sparrows looking at the box. The hole was probably too small for them. However, the Sparrows seem to have moved into the old box now on the oak tree. As for the Blue Tits, well, they're fairly infrequent visitors at the moment. Occasionally stopping at the box, but not entering or pecking at it like last year.
05/03/08	Just in case they thought we'd given up on them. It was just after four on a very dull, cloudy day. Unfortunately, unless enough light gets into the box, the camera reverts to black and white. Click on the bird to see the video...
09/03/08	There is colour on a sunny day!
	And finally, two birds in the box.
13/03/08	Sorry you've had to wait for the latest updates. Let's hope you'll think they're worth it! The blue tits started bringing in nesting material today.
17/03/08	One bird doing the hard work gathering the material. The other making it more comfortable!
18/03/08	Just a good bit of colour!
19/03/08	Another sunny day makes all the difference!
25/03/08	There's more material in here today. But some of it just isn't good enough!
27/03/08	There seems to be a hollow developing at the one end!
03/04/08	This is starting to look more like the finished article.
06/04/08	Now adding a bit of comfort with some feathers.
09/04/08	We haven't seen the two of them in together for a while.
13/04/08	Two again, but what is the one bird doing? Taking material out!?
14/04/08	Oh dear. One bird spent the day taking material out. This is what's left.
15/04/08	Today, the nest box is completely empty! Nothing like a good Spring clean! Maybe there's a new male or female (there have been three birds in the garden). Maybe they've found a better home. Or maybe they've temporarily misplaced their marbles.
17/04/08	Hooray! Well, thank goodness for that, they decided to start again and not move elsewhere!
22/04/08	Still not much in here, but starting to form a hollow again at the one end.
24/04/08	It's beginning to look like a nest again.
26/04/08	That's a bit more like it! Lots of soft fluffy stuff ready for the eggs.
06/05/08	Hooray! The first egg! It didn't stay uncovered for long and was soon hidden under nest material.
11/05/08	As if by magic, five eggs appear! No, you haven't missed anything. The eggs must have been laid over the past five days. The mother bird has covered them each morning before the camera was active!
	He's trying to be helpful, but doesn't seem to want to part with the juicy morsel.
12/05/08	Six fresh eggs!
13/05/08	The Magnificent Seven!
	Here they are again, with mum making herself comfy and dad bringing in a little something to keep her going!
15/05/08	And then there were eight!
17/05/08	Nine eggs! Now, they're going to take some looking after.
19/05/08	We seem to have stopped at nine eggs, thank goodness. Mum's doing a lot of sitting on them at the moment, but not much else is happening.
03/06/08	Sorry for the long delay. The weather has been awful and the footage useless. However, now the good news. The eggs hatched last week and we have 6 healthy baby chicks! Here's the happy family.
	This one's a bit clearer.
04/06/08	We seem to be down to five chicks today. There's a good bit of wing stretching from one bird.
06/06/08	More wing stretching. There's also a little bit of noise! A fuzzy blob has also appeared in front of the camera. It look like a spider has also taken up residence and built a web !
07/06/08	There's a lot more noise and wing stretching going on!
08/06/08	Sadly, we have lost two chicks! There also appears to be only one adult visiting the box. The remaining three seem very healthy and noisy however and are out of the hollow!
09/06/08	Happily, there are still three, healthy, noisy, alert looking chicks being well fed by mum!
10/06/08	All looks well for the remaining three chicks. One looks about ready to go.
11/06/08	Two chicks in here today! Has one fledged? Mum seems to be away for long periods in between feeds. Could she be feeding one elsewhere?
14/06/08	One looks ready to go! Sorry the picture is so bad. Hopefully, the spider will move out too!
15/06/08	Hurray! There goes one!
	And then the other! Let's hope they make it.