SPRING WEATHER BRINGS NESTBOX ACTION

The focus this week has been on the nestbox camera and what is turning out to be an interesting battle for breeding.

As spring finally begins to show itself the blue tits have built a nest and are showing signs that eggs could soon be on their way.

There is a twist to this story as the great tit pair are spending an increased amount of time in my garden and seem to be eyeing up the nestbox for themselves.

Interest from the great tits is not going unnoticed as the blue tits are now beginning to chase their adversaries away from the nextbox. What will happen in the coming week? Will the blue tits lay eggs and raise their brood without interference from the great tits? Time will tell and this little battle is what helps make watching wildlife so fascinating.

In the last few nights the female blue tit has been roosting in the nestbox and it’s been very interesting watching her say ‘goodnight’ to her partner in the fruit tree at the bottom of the garden, before they both got to their own roosting sites.

In other news the great spotted woodpecker has been heard nearly every day hammering away at one of the dead trees on the fields behind the house. Perhaps we’ll see him/her in the garden again soon, although not if it means the blue tit chicks are being predated!

There is a new bird nesting in the trees around the garden area, although not one that is welcomed by the small garden birds.

That’s right a pair of magpies are building a nest and while their presence sometimes causes the smaller birds to flee into the rose bush or hawthorn hedge, they don’t seem too bothered and it’s not affecting the numbers coming to my garden to feed. 

Below is a series of images taken over a ten day period up until today.