Wren Inspects Nestbox

A Wren has inspected the nestbox two days running.



This is a Birdfy nestbox which has two cameras so I can see birds ariving and leaving as well as any interior activity. It looks as though the Wren removed a dead fly while it was there.

Blue Tit brief look at the nestbox

A second cautious inspection of the Birbfy camera nestbox.



A slightly longer visit than the first one about a week ago. The video clip has been slowed down to half speed. It doesn't look very sure about venturing inside as yet.

A Brief Look

This morning saw the first bit of interest being shown in the new camera nestbox.



I took a still shot from the video as the Blue Tit stayed only for a few seconds.

New Nestbox

My old bird nestbox with a DIY camera setup was getting past it use by date. As the Blue Tits have started house hunting I decided to replace it with a Birdfy Nestbox which has two cameras:



The collage shows the nestbox in the bottom view, with a solar panel mounted above the shed. Top left is the view from the internal camera. Top right is the view from the external camera which monitors any birds coming and going. Now I wait while the birds get used to seeing a new object and then hope someone takes an interest in occupying it.

Nestbox Activity

At last I have been able to check on any activity in the camera nestbox. For some reason I lost wifi contact with the camera for several weeks but a re-boot of everything seems to have restored communications. There have been visits made by a Blue Tit on several different days. This capture shows a pair visiting:



Notice how the first one calls to its mate and moves to a corner so as not to act as a soft landing for the second one.

A Second Inspection

Earlier in the week there appeared to be a very brief visit to the nest box by a Dunnock. Too brief to be absolutely sure on the identification. Yesterday's visitor was much easier to identify:



Another visit from a Great Tit.

A Brief Inspection

Checking to see whether there had been any activity in the camera nestbox I was pleased to see this Great Tit had given it a brief inspection a few days ago.



It is the time of year when some birds do the rounds of possible nesting sites. It certainly made a change as over the past year the only activity recorded has been the occasional wasp, fly, butterfly and spider.

Blue Tit - Nestbox Shuffle

A while ago I intimated that the next stage in choosing a nestbox would be a nestbox shuffle. The bird spreads its wings and shuffles round the bottom of the box.



It seems to be a way of checking whether the box is large enough for a nest and a brood of chicks. If she is satisfied with the box we may see some nest building soon, or maybe it being used as a roost overnight.

Still Investigating

A few mornings ago a Great Tit investigated the camera nestbox. An hour later these Blue Tits spent about four minutes checking it out.



Nothing more until this morning when a pair of Great Tits made a short visit. No sign of a 'nest box shuffle' from either species. That is when the female spreads her wings and shuffles round the bottom of the box as though checking it is the right size for nest building.

More Nest Box Inspections

Today was the fourth time Great Tits checked out the Nest Box. What surprised me was the Blue Tit which also visited a short while later. If the video appears to be greyed out it will still play. Seems to be a glitch with YouTube or Blogger.



I wonder how many other sites they are checking out before making a choice.

Nest Box Visitors

First - A short while ago I saw two Robins on the lawn. The male will usually attack and drive off any other male Robin intruders in his territory. Those two kept about six feet apart with no signs of aggression. A single Robin has been the first and last visitor to the bird table every day. About a week ago the camera caught two on there at the same time. Slight aggression but both fed at the same time. I hope this is a bonded pair who will nest nearby in the near future.



Now on to the nest box. On Sunday morning a pair of Great Tits came to investigate it. The box was also visited the following day.



Sunday was very overcast so the camera stayed in black and white. Monday was much brighter so a colour clip was captured.

Close Encounter of the Bird Kind

On checking for any recordings from the nest box camera I see that this little enquirer made a very quick four second visit.





Those are screen shots from the very short piece of video. Am I correct in thinking this was a Wren?

New Year's Resolution

Yesterday, on the last day of 2021, I finally got round to carrying out a resolution I made nearly twelve months ago. I had been wanting to fix up a nestbox with a camera inside. Something I did many years ago for a couple of breeding seasons. That camera was only black and white. It was wired all the way from the end of the garden to this room so I could record any activity. I hankered for colour and wireless transmission. A few weeks ago I experimented with the camera I had used in the Hedgehog house to see whether that would work.



I removed the stand and fixed it facing down looking through a hole in the top part of the box. After a soak test running it in the conservatory for about ten days all seemed OK so I fixed up the nestbox in place of the one I cleared out a short while ago.



It may look a little strange as most of it is new(ish) but I had mislaid the section with the entrance hole so I used the one from the old box. This box is designed for a camera and has a 'window' on one side to let a bit of light in which enables the camera to record in colour during the day. The box is positioned so Sunlight doesn't shine directly on it.



View the camera sees though it makes the inside of the nestbox look tattier than it really is.



The camera detects movement and records automatically to an SD card. That can be accessed from an app on my phone and any interesting activity downloaded. I'm not sure yet about the focus as it is fixed and once a nest is built the focus may be a tad on the soft side. Only time will tell.

All I need now is for a Blue Tit or Great Tit to make a New Year Resolution to use the nestbox as a Winter roost and then build a nest.

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.

Ready for Winter, Preparing for Spring

Winter can be trial for humans and wildlife. For the birds I have bought three coconuts filled with suet, insects and mealworms:



After a night of freezing temperatures, rain and then light snow the footpaths and untreated lanes were a skating rink as Penny found out when she did her impersonation of Bambi on the frozen lake. I was safe as I had dug out the old pair of shoes I keep fitted with ice spikes:



It won't be too long before birds start investigating nesting places. This year I am trying out a WoodStone nestbox:



Although I knew it was made with a mixture of concrete and wood (sawdust?) it is a lot heavier than I expected. A good job it comes complete with a hefty screw in hook to hang it on.

Busy Blue Tits

2nd attempt as, believe it or not, YouTube removed the first attempt for ' violating the guidelines'!

Lots of activity at the nestbox on the back of the workshop.
Unfortunately no camera in the box this year.



I set up the 50D on a tripod and left it filming for a few minutes and edited out the waiting times.
The first clip shows both parents visiting at the same time.

P.S. On appeal the original video was re-instated. Then I deleted it anyway.
No point in having two identical videos, albeit with slightly different titles.
The original had the same title as this post so I guess a YouTube bot assumed it must have been 'rude'.

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.