You might think that it’s the calm before the storm out there in your garden. That the blackbirds and robins are quietly going about their business in readiness for the upcoming breeding season. But, believe it or not, some birds will actually be putting the finishing touches to nests and settling down to lay eggs. Yes, really!
Every month
There’s a few early starters you may find in your garden:
As well as being very territorial and chasing away any interloper, robins have actually been found nesting in every month of the year! Usually it’s from early March, but there’s no reason why you won’t spy your garden friend nesting right now. In fact, we've already had calls telling us about nest building.
Look out for song thrushes too. These speckle-breasted songsters also have a prolonged breeding season, and again have been found nesting in most months.
Keep an eye out for blackbirds. Now, like robins, they start nesting in early March, but we've had reports of nest building and, incredibly, already having feathered chicks.
An urban thing?
It’s been suggested that perhaps it’s an urban thing, what with more hiding places, mainly in garden shrubs, and potentially warmer temperatures than the countryside. This is certainly the case for woodpigeons, with urban pigeons beginning to lay eggs in February. We've had news that their cousins, the much daintier collared doves, are already breeding. They can, in fact, breed all year round if the conditions are right.
Down at the park
Away from your garden, a trip down to your local parkland pond or reservoir may well result in spotting more birds on eggs.
Great-crested grebes can lay eggs anytime from mid-February and, in exceptional cases, even earlier! They build their nests from weeds and twigs, where they’ll hatch out 3-4 stripy youngsters. If not nest-building yet, look out for their elaborate, dancing courtship display.
Take a look in the trees too for a massive, untidy nest. This could well be the work of grey herons. I always think they look a bit ridiculous in trees, but this is where they choose to nest, safe from any ground predators. After laying their eggs during February, 25-26 days later three or more Mohican-hairstyled punks will hatch out. We've seen the herons repairing nests from our viewpoint in Verulamium Park, St. Albans. For the next two months we'll be showing you the goings on at the herony, so why not pay a visit if you're in the area?
What’s breeding in your garden?
Have you seen any evidence of early breeding? Is there a robin in your nestbox? Have you seen a heron sitting on a nest at your local park? Make a comment and let us know what you’ve seen and where you’ve seen it...
For more on our science, check out the RSPB Centre for Conservation Science web pages.
Blue tits are going in and out of our nest box in Maldon, Essex ....lovely to watch..
I've noticed a great tit looking our bird box in our garden which should be exciting if it nests there as we've only had blue tits live there!
Yesterday I found a Robin nesting in a wall vent on the side of my house. I found it because of all the noise it was making, it's very territorial and aggressive. It's only about 6 feet off the ground so I shall have to do something to stop the local cats getting up there.
Thanks for all your comments, keep them coming! It's plain to see that breeding activity is going on in many gardens up and down the UK.
I've got a few answers for some specific questions:
@Moggsie - Difficult to know without seeing it - but we have had one report of blackbird chicks already this year. Blackbirds do gather in loose flocks during the winter, so it may just be another local blackbird.
@Lilian - Your blue tits may be using the nestbox for roosting. It's common for small birds to use nestboxes to roost in over the winter. But as we're approaching their breeding season, it's possible that they're looking at it as a potential nest site. Keep an eye out and see how it develops.
@lyn marshall - We've got some advice about how to deter squirrels on our website. See www.rspb.org.uk/.../greysquirrels.aspx.
Hope that's helpful and, as I said, keep your comments coming.
Kevin
Our tree sparrows on the Isle of Mull have been nest building for a week or so, unfortunately high winds early this week seems to have damaged the nest in the eaves/ honeysuckle.