Great tit nest box diary 2005

In 2004 there were only a few pictures of nesting birds posted on the website. Great tits eventually decided that they would nest in two adjacent sections of the so called 'sparrow terrace' which, sadly, was a camera free zone. All the chicks successfully fledged, thanks to a plentiful supply of mealworms. (See the mealworm link at the bottom of this page.)

By late March 2005 two of the three boxes with cameras installed had recorded some activity. One box had a roosting blue tit every night since early December 2004, so it seemed likely that this would be used in 2005. Fortunately I was right, and by early April a pair of blue tits was filling the box with moss at phenomenal rate. Great tits made their preliminary exploration of a second box on the first day of April (see pictures immediately below) but delayed nest building until 23rd May. I know it's colder 'Up North' but this seems particularly late!

IMAGES FROM 'BOX 2' - Great tits

Click on any of the pictures below for an enlarged view

1st April 2005 - (the first pictures with the new camera - Henry's 3046LA)
Motion detection software (Active Webcam from Pysoft.com) detected these great tits and automatically saved the images to the computer. Computer software such as this is invaluable for those fleeting moments that you would normally miss.

Click on any of the pictures below for an enlarged view

23rd May 2005 - I had given up all hope of this nest box being used this season. Most people have reported chicks by now, yet work on this nest is just starting!
23rd May 2005 - 10:59	23rd May 2005 - 16:22	23rd May 2005 - 16:36	23rd May 2005 - 23:06
The first nesting material	Compacting the moss	I'm more optimistic as the day goes on!	The first night in the new home!

6th June 2005 - 6 great tit eggs
	It's hard to imagine that just 14 days ago this box was virtually empty, but now the nest is complete and 6 great tit eggs have been laid. (The last was laid on 1st June) Those who expressed an interest in the nesting birds earlier in the year may have the link to the live web cam. If so, I hope you're enjoying the action.

16th June. No more pictures yet. Sorry. There is no male bird to help with the feeding, just 'mum' and a surrogate dad (me!) plus lots of mini mealworms. The male great tit was last seen on 30th May. I think that something bad has happened to him, as prior to that he was an attentive partner. This is going to be a tough job! The great tit chicks hatched on 12th June, are now 4 days old and growing well. At least 'mum' has agreed to take care of the chicks' toileting arrangements if I provide the food. Updates later.

29th June 4 healthy chicks - 18 days old. A regular supply of mealworms has helped these 'one parent chicks' to survive and grow to the healthy state you can see in the picture to the immediate right. Unless something terrible happens to 'mum' these chicks should all fledge in the next few days. I'm monitoring her regularly, just to be sure!

2nd July 2005 All 4 great tit chicks fledged today - 13:10, 13:30, 16:35 & 17:25, twenty one days after hatching. It was debatable if this story would have a happy ending, as there was no male bird throughout the entire rearing period. It proves the value of mealworms at this critical time. I can relax now! Watching it all via the live webcam is no substitute for viewing the action live on your own computer or TV, with accompanying sound. I hope it may have inspired you to install your own nest box and nest box camera in readiness for next season. See links below.

Relevant links
| Nest boxes - FAQ's | | Nest box plans | | Installing a nest box camera |
| Spring / summer feeding tips | | Mealworms | | Previous nest box diary |

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