I am so enjoying my nestcam! Just check my movies

This is the third season that I have a birdbox with camera in my garden and the first time that I actually have chicks in there! (blue tits).

In 2012 a nest with nine eggs was left behind after my neighbour's cat scared the birds away (cat was able to climb the tree but I have taken effective measures against that now).

In 2013 nest building wasn't finished because another blue tit scared the nest builder off. It looked to me like the same male had two females and one of the females already had a nest nearby and she booted out the other female without using the birdbox herself. I'm not 100% sure but this is what I thought was happening when I saw it. It really surprised me.

And now in 2014 after I came back from six weeks outside the country, I switched on the camera and there was a nest with 11 eggs! (12 the next day). I have 9 healthy chicks now (2 eggs didn't hatch, one chick died).

I'm posting short video's on the blog below with some comments as I'm trying to make sense of it all.

http://wildlifeinmygarden.blogspot.co.uk/

This blog is really for my own record keeping (how else do you make a "photo-album" with video's?) but it might perhaps interest some folks here too. And please comment if I get some of the interpretation of behaviour wrong. I'm no expert at all, just a guy enjoying his garden birds and trying to make sense of what he observes.

Anyway, just wanted to say that a birdbox with camera is seriously addictive stuff!  And it is not only interesting when there is a nest. It is also very interesting to see birds inspecting potential nestsites in winter and spring. So consider getting a birdbox with camera instead of satelite TV!