Nestbox Cleanout Time

An email from Simon King Wildlife reminded me it was time to check the bird nestboxes and clean out any old nests ready for the next seasons of Winter roosting and Spring nest building. I have two nestboxes fixed to the back wall of a shed. The first of these is a modern type of concrete mixture:



Once the two clips were turned and the front removed I could see that this box hadn't been used at all, empty apart from a dead bumblebee I brushed out.



The other box is a traditional wooden design:



The only creatures I had seen visiting it last Summer were bees so I carefully unscrewed the two front panels expecting to find some sort of hive or bumblebee nest. I was not expecting to see:



Interesting as the bottom layer of the nest was composed of twig like pieces from nearby fir trees. Not something I have seen before. Here it is once I had removed it from the nestbox:



It seems to be a finished nest as the top layer is moss but as it was little compacted in the centre I doubt that any eggs were laid let alone any chicks hatched. It wouldn't be the first time bees seem to have driven out a nesting bird.

Feeding Time

The Blue Tit chicks have really grown in the past eight days.



On our early morning walk I spotted about six House Martins swooping about overhead.
Managed a quick snapshot as one neared its nest on a nearby house

 

There appeared to be three nests under that roof.

Blue Tit Eggs Hatch

About 9.45 yesterday morning I saw Mrs Blue Tit eating egg shell.
The first one had hatched. By 7 p.m. it looked as though five of the eight eggs had hatched so far.

Some snippets of video from the nestbox camera:

Blue Tit Incubation Started

I had been a bit worried that the male hadn't been seen visiting the nest for a couple of days.
Worries over, as I saw two visits today where he brought food for the female.



Looking forward to the start of hatching near the middle of the month.

Eight!

Yesterday morning I could see seven eggs in the Blue Tit nestbox.
Unlike previous days Mrs BT spent most of the day on the nest.
I assumed she had finished laying but when she nipped out this morning ...



... the total is now eight.
She didn't leave the nest for very long and is back keeping the eggs warm.

Definitely Six

This morning I had a clear view of the eggs in the Blue Tit nestbox

Your Guess is as Good as Mine

When Mrs BT moved out of the way this morning:



Is that three or four eggs?

Do You See What I See?

Mrs Blue Tit has spent the past five nights sleeping in the nestbox.
Video clip of her settling down the first night:



Most nights she has avoided sleeping in the middle of the nest.
Also she is careful to keep to the edge of the nest during day visits.
From past experience that should mean she has started laying but not ready to incubate yet,

This morning I managed to grab a poor video snapshot when she left the nest.



Near the centre of the nest it is possible to make out at least one egg.

All Systems Are Go

After weeks of no bird activity in the nestbox, today there were about 100 visits.
Mrs Great Tit worked all morning and most of the afternoon with an hour lunch break.



Let's hope they are successful this year.
Last year the nest was nearly finished when a bumble bee took possession.

Soundtrack is

Disco Lounge by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100602

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Ready For a New Resident

As at least one Great Tit is visiting the garden it was time to give the camera nestbox a bit of a clean. Last Spring a Great Tit had spent ages building a nest only for it to be taken over by a bumblebee.

Once I had removed the front sections from the box the full depth of the nest could be seen:



I managed to take it out in one piece.
Notice how the materials used start coarse and gets finer as it nears completion:



I had hoped to see some remnants of the bumblebee nest but when I parted the construction all that could be noticed was a greasy, waxy coating to the materials. That surprised me as there had been plenty of bee activity with frequent comings and goings for several weeks.

Anyway, the nestbox is empty and clean once again ready for a new occupant.

Who Will Win Possession?

It's not all over yet as to which will finally nest in the camera nestbox.
The bumblebee continues adjusting the nesting material.
At one stage yesterday there were two of them in there.

Every now and then Mrs GT brings more material.
Early this morning Mr GT arrived with what looks like a bee fly he had caught, presumably as food for Mrs. She arrives and after a short while leaves:



Who will actually raise a brood?
Will the Great Tits remove the bee or will they be scared off?
Stay tuned for the next thrilling episode of 'The Drama of the Nest Box'

Houston, We've Had A Problem

Some time around mid-day yesterday the Great Tit nest was invaded.
A bumble bee decided to set up residence:



Soon after that Mrs GT returned with some more nesting material. The bee was hidden but as soon as it was noticed Mrs GT rapidly left the nest. She returned a short while later with more material but saw the bee as soon as she poked her head in and promptly left the nestbox. No roosting last night.

This morning Mrs GT has brought more nesting material. Each time the bee has been out of sight but as soon as she left it started to move the material where it wanted. On her last visit so far Mrs GT once again started to enter the nestbox but left almost immediately.

I did consider trying to remove the bee though it would probably return.
In the end I thought, oh well, it will be a change to see what goes on in a bee's nest.
Very disappointing though as it's the first use of the nestbox for about three years.
Let's hope Mrs GT has the time and energy to start again somewhere else.

What a change in the weather. The temperature topped 20C yesterday and could go higher today.
At least it should dry out the grass so I can get the lawn cut. I did get some new fencing put up to replace the quick bodge job behind the large tree stump. This time with reed screening which blends in better:



It will look better once the wooden parts have weathered a bit.
All being well I should be able to make a start with filling the hanging baskets today.

Great Tit Roosting

Mrs GT made many visits yesterday and today bringing soft material to line her nest.
Tonight is the first time she has decided to sleep there.
All being well the first egg should be appearing in the not too distant future.



For anyone not able to leave a comment - I spent some time searching to find a possible cause.
All I came up with is it is something which others have found happening from time to time.
It has been going on for some years and only affects a few blogs at any one time.
There doesn't seem to be a solution apart from waiting for things to get back to normal in their own good time.

Another Busy Day

As the 10 bare root Vibrant strawberry plants I had ordered arrived this morning I had to set about planting them in a couple of troughs for them to grow on in the greenhouse. Working with wet potting compost outdoors was far from pleasant in the cold, misty, damp atmosphere created by the sea fret which covered the area for most of the day:

 

Added to the plug plants potted and growing on in the conservatory are these Upright Bush Fuchsia 'Hermiana' plants. These are for the top of my hanging baskets:



Yesterday everywhere was soaking wet after yet another night of persistent rain so the Great Tit took a break from nest building. Today she made up for lost time by making about 18 visits:



It looks as though this sea fret will be with us at least for tomorrow morning but all being well we can both look forward to warmer weather from this coming weekend.

For those unfamiliar with sea frets you can read a description on the Met office site HERE.

Time For A Soft Lining

The Great Tit has been working very hard to get her nest built.
Now she is bringing in moss to line it:

Busy, Busy

The Great Tit has been making up for lost time. She spend a short while yesterday and nearly two hours this morning fetching material to build her nest in the camera nest box. This is the second hour this morning. Though speeded up 4x it is still over 7 minutes long:

Home Sweet Home

Great Tit nest building starts in earnest. Just a couple of short clips:

Inside the Can

Have tried a few times to photograph the Robin nest inside the discarded watering can.
The best so far, best being a relative term .....



A crop from that photo showing three nestlings:

Would You Adam and Eve It?

Been watching a Robin collecting grass or moss and disappearing in the same direction every time so I went on a nest hunt. Now, there is a perfectly good, safe, dry nest box on the back of the shed set up for any Robin looking for a des res:

   

As can be seen from the grab from the video camera inside the box, completely deserted.
Anyway, that wasn't the direction the Robin kept disappearing. That was almost to ground level at the side of the greenhouse. What was there which would be of interest to a Robin?

An abandoned watering can?:


A quick peek inside showed some fresh moss near the back:


A closer view:


Yes, definitely signs of recent activity.
Now, is this going to be a safe place to bring up a family?
Too many cats prowling at all times of day and night so we will have to wait and see what happens.
Maybe I could erect some wire netting to protect the area.

No problem with the can filling with water when it rains.
It was abandoned as there is a large crack in the base so it has good drainage.

Robins are well known for using anything they think suitable as a nesting site from kettles to cardboard boxes in outbuildings.

Now We Are Two (weeks old)

The six surviving Great Tit babies appear to be progressing well. They often spend time preening and flapping their tiny wings.