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February bird chipping away at nest box entrance,April box occupied, May young birds fledged as I think as normal.October Blue Tit back chipping away at box entrance and inspecting interior.
I have never noticed this behavior before at this time of year.Is this normal.
A further update on my nest box which was not used by the Blue Tits. This morning at 7am we saw a Robin carrying in nesting material and this carried on until about 9.30am. My wife left the kitchen for about 30 mins and when she returned there was a neat pile of what seemed to be a lot of feathers on the patio. We are not sure where they came from but tips of the smaller downy feathers look to be red like breast feathers but also some tail feathers too. I peeked into the nest box and there is a bird in there and this afternoon what I presume is the male Robin did pay a brief visit. I am really confused by the pile of feathers dumped on the patio though....first thought a cat may have killed but the pile seemed too neat. Other thoughts were that the Robin turfed them out of the nest for some reason. Strange...anyone got any other ideas?
I think you might be right. Really sad as it is the first time we have had a bird actually build a nest and I have only seen a Sparrowhawk hovering around this area once about 3 years ago. I took a closer look in the box today and the nest is created but there is no Robin and not seen any Robin in the garden today.
Excellent news,Tim.Keep us all up to date with events,please.
I recently set up a cctv camera inside a box, close to the feeders in the garden to get a closer look at the male Blackcap which has become a regular visitor lately. I was surprised to find that almost immediately the camera box was in place, a bluetit entered the box for a good look around, I had to admire his cheek. He also returned ten minutes later for a more thorough examination of his potential nest site. Reading the above posts, it seems quite normal for this sort of activity in winter. By the way this is the coldest snap of the winter so far, -1 c at night and around 4 or 5 c daytime in S Wales
I had exactly the same experience. Five minutes after installing the camera, a pair of bluetits began bringing in nesting material. But after a few days, the material was removed by the birds. The same occurred a week later, and is happening again as I write. That's three substantial deliveries and collections. It's baffling. Should I presume that the tits are storing material in a safe and dry location but nesting elsewhere? That would indicate either a degree of planning or inefficiency. Any explanations?
Fran