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14 04 2012- Nest building started
20 04 First eggs seen built up to 10 eggs by 24 04
11 05 5 chicks hatched and 8 chicks seen the next day
15 05 1 chick died. Parents did not remove it from box. Is this common?
23 05 Second chick died. Not removed from nest box.
26 05 Another chick dies. Parents have been feeding all chicks actively and they are growing
01 06 For the first time no parent was sitting on the nest at night.
02 06 Two more chicks have died during the night
03 06 Of the three remaining chicks one chick missing from nest. I thought that it had fledged but no sign of a young blue tit in the garden
04 06 Last two chicks also have died during the night.
I have left wild bird seed and suet foods in cocoanuts and in balls which were used by both parents.to feed the chicks throught this period. I believe that the dead birds in the box which have not been removed might be the source of some infection or have I been overfeeding them? I would like to know. Leaving the dead birds in the box seem unnatural for the birds, the natural instinct is to keep the nest clean eg., removing the feacal sacs.
Ossy.
Hi Ozzy
afraid this is happening all over the country with bluetits.
I would clean the box out if as you say all are dead.
Don't think your feeding has anything to do with the deaths,the parents will feed caterpillers etc for the first few days. There may well be a shortage of natural food due to the weather we have been having.
Ray
a good laugh is better than a tonic
Hi Ozzy.
So sorry you have witnessed this sad event but it does seem to have happened a lot this year. The blue tits are not doing well at all.
We had some very hot days followed by a lot of rain and cold. This will have had something to do with it. Insects and caterpillars will have been hard to find. It's nothing you have done wrong.
As for not removing the dead birds. I noticed on Spring Watch that the 6 chicks that died in one night were still in the box with the 4 surviving ones. They may have grown just a bit too big for the parents to carry. That's just a guess though.
Cheers, Linda.
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