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Hi we have had a successful nest for the past 4 years, with a few fatalities which I understand is normal , but yesterday we could see from the webcam that from a batch of 11 eggs and 10 days old and going extremely well , they started to reduced in numbers to 9 then dramatically during the day went down to 5 then 4 they died babies being removed from the nest and this morning when mum woke up she tried to feed them with a juicy grub no movement they had all died.
its so sad
it was extremely hot yesterday 22/23c would this be the culprit? Has this happened to anyone else?
Thanks for your reply. We did wonder whether it was caused by poisoning. We're really anti insecticides for that reason and like you, I always thought we were discouraged from hanging bird feeders up during the breeding season.. Just so sad that mum completely ignored the one remaining chick when it was clearly desperate for food and might have survived. We're always so excited when these little birds start their nest building every year! I hope things will be better next year.
Very hard to know really. Parents can just abandon. I do wonder if there is a real reason why the adult didn't fancy going in the box. Whether it or the box had been attacked. I guess we'll never know. Hopefully it'll be back to normal in that box next year.
The last of our baby blue tits died last night, after Mum having laid seven eggs. Just so sad after all the work the parents had put in. The programme Springwatch highlighted this issue, as it is happening country wide this year.
Sorry to hear of yet another blu tit nest failure Heather and the mention of the Springwatch announcement ... haven't see it yet, did they give any reasons why?
2013 photos & vids here
eff37 on Flickr
I came to this page looking for some answers to the same thing. I have spent the past weeks enjoying watching and listening to the lovely sights and sounds of the blue tit parents and their young in a nesting box in my garden, this is the first in my garden. Last week i found 2 of the chicks on my path dead, i can only think they fell from the nest, however there was still activity in and around the nest with the remaining babies and parents. Over the weekend i then noticed absolute silence with no activity at all, blue bottles in and around the nest only. i left it a couple of hours then i had to remove the bird box and dispose of it because of this. A little later on 1 of the parents came back to where the box was, i am really upset and wondered if i did the right thing I am heartbroken at the loss of these wee chicks
I really don't want to go through this again next year
These are heart breaking accounts. We've had bluetits for the last 3 years with close to 100 % fledging (8-9 eggs per year) from box. It was great tits this year with 4 from 8 fledging. I was curious as to the losses but as I can't record, and can only get live images when I'm home, I didn't really see anything traumatic, there were just fewer in the nest. What is remarkable is how the dates of egg laying and hatching have so closely overlapped over a period of 4 years. Both parents feeding throughout. I must admit to having a seed feeder about 20 m away, just outside the garden, and hanging a fat ball out aftr hatching, again, a fair distance from nest box.
The weather was very poor this year and a distinct shortage of insects that are needed to feed and hydrate chicks ... it would be better to provide some live mealworms during nesting time than fat balls!
You should always leave nest boxes in situ until after nesting season only cleaning out & replacing September time!
Easier said than done when the Starlings eat everything insight. The rotting carcases of dead chick's in a nest box next to the window is difficult to live with for long, attracting flies, amongst other vermin. Needs must!