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For every year as long as I can remember a pair of bluetits (I think it was the same pair though I'm not sure) have nested in a hollow washing pole in my garden. This year they failed to return and I don't know what has happened to them. Do you think the cold weather might have killed them? They are used to human contact so I don't think our activities would have frightened them away...
Hi Catherine
I saw on another thread somewhere that bluetits only live for about 1½ to 2 years so it may not have been the same pair each year,possibly offspring from previous years using the nest site where they were hatched?
Maybe something has happened to them or they have gone elswhere this year.
I have had bluetits in the same box for 3 years and this year I put up 2 extra boxes and had broods in both new boxes but not the old one!
Fingers crossed for a return to your washing pole next year!
Rachel
It's not always easy to hug a hedgehog.
But that doesn't mean you shouldn't.
Hi Rachel
Thanks for all the information! I did suspect that it was different pairs but I wasn't sure how long they lived for. I also had an old nestbox which birds would nest in but suddenly they stopped nesting in it so I moved the box (probably a bad plan) and there have been no more birds in that box. Maybe they will return one day...
I've put up 2 new nest boxes but unfortunately, being a newbie to birdwatching, I put them out a little late and the birds didn't nest! I have high hopes for next year though especially for my washing pole bluetits! :D