We have a nest box with camera. A blue tit occupied the box in late march and started laying on the 7th of April.She has kept the eggs well-covered. However this morning we have turned the camera on and the mother (presumably)has died and is lying across the eggs. The other parent has been in with food but flown off again.We live in Manchester and it has been dry and cold overnight for the past week but there is plenty of food & water available.
I guess the it is to early for the remaining parent to brood and feed the clutch. Do we clean out the nest straightaway?
Also is there any organisation interested in finding out what the Blue tit died from?
Thanks in advance.
Rob H
Thanks for the updates Rob, at least the deceased blue tit didn't appear to have signs of disease which are always a worry as it can spread to other birds and although we'll never know the exact cause of death it is still interesting to read the PM report nonetheless and also good to hear about the new activity with Blue Tits, thanks for all your concerns and efforts and hope you get to see some lovely fledglings around your garden in due course.
post edit: it did occur to me that this blue tit may have died as a result of a fierce encounter with another bird as I have often seen them attack one another over food source or nesting sites, etc., perhaps it was injured from such a fight and died as a result. Only a theory as it remains unclear as to certain cause of death.