NO CRACKS YET

The female great tit is still incubating the eight eggs and there appears to be no change in her agitated behaviour; as if the eggs are overdue.

I've seen all eight eggs this evening and didn't see any cracks to indicate an imminent hatching.

If the eggs are hatching by Friday I fear for the would-be parents as it'll be nearly three weeks since they were laid.

In other news the frog appears to have taken up permanent residence in the pond, despite the water levels in the pond dropping rapidly in the continuing warm weather.

I'm hoping by the weekend, rain will refill the pond & also water the rest of the garden.

Here's hoping the morning will bring news of the first arrival.

PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE

I've been enjoying the sunny weather by spending quality time with my daughter, something I don't have to often.

But as we've been in the garden lots, I've managed to keep an eye on the great tit nestbox.

The main activity in the second week of incubating has been watching the male bring food to the female.

She is spending much more time on the eggs and now rarely ventures out of the nestbox. On the one occasion I spotted her doing so I did count that eight eggs were still there.

I'm anticipating the hatching in the next 24-48 hours, although it could be another 4/5 days before all the eggs hatch, if they all do.

The mealworms are going down a treat with the robins, blackbirds and the male great tit, who is splitting them in half before feeding his mate.

My one worry is the blue tits. I've not seen any around the garden for a week and I've got the feeling they've decided to move on.

On the pond, I've not seen any more of the frog and no sign of frogspawn. The pond filling might begin this weekend.

More updates over the weekend when I hope to bring some news of a hatching or two!

DEMANDING CHICKS

Mealworm, caterpillar, mealworm

No cuckoo sounds so far this weekend, but we're only half way through it so plenty of time to go!

Spent a lot of time in the garden yesterday planting out baskets, mowing and putting sunflowers around the borders. Fingers crossed they bloom and attract seed hunters later in the year.

As for the blue tits, they seem to be getting along quite well with a constant supply of food from the parents. Be it a mealworm or two, courtesy of me, caterpillars or other delicious grubs.

I was hopeful the chicks would fledge this weekend, but it seems it could be midweek, when I won't be able to view the spectacle.

Next door have introduced some feeder to the garden and this has attracted the local birds. I'm confident with plenty of shelter, wild food, nestboxes and human-presented food the local bird population will continue to grow and stay around for years.

Some of course will fly away to warmer climes for the winter, which includes the beautiful swallows. They treated us to a spectacular aerobatic display yesterday morning and evening as they competed for food and nesting areas.

They've obviously chosen the same building as last year, the year before and probably for many years before. I'm aiming to get footage of their display today and put them on my next blog.

I know they're nesting because I saw, on a number of occasions yesterday, one on the floor collecting materials for a nest.

I'm looking forward to the newly hatched chicks fledging and learning their aerobatic skills in August, before sadly gathering on the telephone wires in September and going off on their winter holidays until April.

I can see them outside the window now so fingers crossed I get some good footage.

Of the other birds, the blackbirds seem t be on eggs, as the male is the only one seen at the moment. I gather the mating I witnessed early on Thursday may have been successful.

The robins must be showing their chicks around the local neighbourhood, although I get the feeling another pair is 'operating' in the area and could be on eggs.

The tree sparrows appear to be pairing up for mating and the great tits must have chicks they are feeding frequently.

The dunnocks appear to be feeding fledglings but as usual with new families, they disperse after fledgings and take a tour of the area as the parents moult.

I'll publish a full list of the regular wildlife in my garden in the next post.

Oh finally, I was treated to a display from swifts last night, amazing aerial skills and squeaking. I don't think they're nesting too close to the garden, but I think I will see them a lot more during the summer evenings.

And I'm really looking forward to Springwatch starting tomorrow!

BLUE TITS SINGING IN THE RAIN

The chicks are getting louder

This morning I glimpsed the sun through the many clouds and wondered if the weather would be good for once and help the growing blue tit chicks.

I needn't have worried - when I arrived home it rained and rained and rained!

My usual morning feed was gone within minutes and this evening the feed was noticed in seconds (as usual) despite the constant heavy rain. I gave the feeders a little more both times in the hope the parents would take a few for themselves and keep the chicks warm through the night.

As I watch the birds visiting my garden my mind wanders to the pond behind the house, and the mallard duckings.

I see them every morning and evening as I drive to and from work since I noticed their presence. They seem to be progressing well and according to research I heard today, they must be loving the rain!

There seems to be two pairs of tufted ducks in the pond and this weekend I'm going to find out if they're both nesting and on eggs. Fingers crossed for some positive news.

Back to the blue tits. The chicks seem to be doing well and the squawking gets higher, during feeding, every day. I'm not sure exactly how many chicks are in the nestbox (I'll be getting a camera nestbox for next season!), but I aim to count them as they leave the nest.

FEEDING HABITS

Trust takes time with wildlife

As the days pass and the blue tit chicks, along with other local youngsters, grow bigger, stronger and louder, I've been amazed at the level of trust building between me and the parent blue tits.

When I first noticed they were looking at the nest again, after a successful breeding season in 2008, I was greeted by warning calls from both birds whenever I was in the garden.

But as time has passed and since the chicks have hatched the parents have become very bold around me. The male still has the occasional chirp of an alarm call, but the female seems quite content with me presence.

This video shows how bold they have become, clearly ignoring me as they feed their young.



I've put this down to them seeing me regularly (twice a day) putting out mealworms for them to feed their young. The boldness of the blue tits is now showing in the other birds, with the dunnocks, great tits, blackbirds and tree sparrows allowing me to be closer and closer to them.

The behaviour of the robins has always been bold but they seem to have deserted the feeding stations in my garden over the last few days. I'm hoping it's because they are giving their fledglings a tour of the local fields, hedges and feeding hotspots.

Some more successful news from the pond behind my house. The mallards have been showing off 5 young over the weekend. I'm hopng to get images of the family over the bank holiday weekend - if the weather allows!
The pond is also home to a pair of tufted ducks and I suspect they are on eggs now. I'll update the news on them in the next few days.

My small pond is still full of life, with a few tadpoles growing and the plants and insects showing signs of a vibrant, if small, habitat.

Enjoy the video and I'll have more as the week goes by.

A COUP - AND NOT A DOVE IN SIGHT

Tree sparrows attempt nestbox coup

After a breakfast feeding of mealworms all seemed well with my blue tit family until a sinister side of bird life reared its ugly head.

Today has been developing in to a potentially devastating one for the blue tit family, in particular the blue tit chicks.

A pair of tree sparrows appear to have taken a liking to their nestbox and have been inspecting the entrance and generally hanging around outside it.

They constantly chirp away making their presence easy to detect, especially as working from home today I sit just the other side of the wall to the blue tit nestbox.

I've seen the blue tit parents chase of the tree sparrows on a number of occasions and it seems to have done the trick, but tree sparrows have been known to regularly take over another nest, regardless of the situation.

In some cases they build their nest ON TOP of the existing one, even if it has chicks or eggs inside.

So the day ended with my usual late evening meal, though I got a little wet this evening.

All seems to have returned to normal as I post, but rest assured I'll be checking on their progress throughout the weekend, as I'll be spending lots of time in the garden.

More pics soon.

FEEDING UPDATE

Taking pictures

After crouching by the window trying to get images of the parents entering the nestbox to feed the youngsters I’ve had to make do with the current images you can see in this post and the previous one. (this is of a robin picking a mealworm off the ground)

The mealworm feast I’m providing is feeding not only the blue tits, but also blackbirds, robins, dunnocks and great tits.

I believe, judging by the behaviour of the robins, dunnocks and great tits, they all have nests with young in nearby. This weekend I intend to establish exact locations and, if possible, provide images of their ‘homes’.

I will of course not jeopardise the health of chicks or adults during this exercise.

As for the blue tit chicks, I’ve not really heard them yet while they’re being fed, but expect to hear something by the end of this week.

It’s at this point that I regret not putting up a camera nestbox, though this was decided for me when in February the adults blue tits were using the nestbox as a roosting station.

I will however put one up in late autumn when I clear out the current nestbox ready for next year.

BREAKING NEWS

Tits give birth (well hatch anyway)

Great news for all followers of this blog. The eggs have hatched this afternoon and the parents are frantically dashing to and from the nestbox with various offerings for the newly-hatched youngsters.

I'm helping a little by providing mini mealworms which they seem to be hoovering up very gratefully.

I'm in the process of taking pictures for you all to see and will upload them whenever it is possible.

In the meantime hold on to your hats, the next few weeks as raising young tits is a difficult business, full of ups and downs.

I'll be helping out with mini mealworms handouts but fingers crossed we'll see some blue tit fledglings in about 3 weeks.

Speaking of fledglings I met a blackbird fledgling this morning while on a bike ride down the country lanes by the house. In a fluster it clung to the outside of a hawthorn hedge by the side of the lane and we both looked at each other in curiosity for about 30 seconds before both carried on our separate ways.

The picture above is one of the parents picking off a mealworm to take it back to the chicks.

Further pictures will be available on my next update.