Feeding (1 Viewer)

I have bluetits with, I think 6 chicks in a nestbox with camera on my garden shed. I also have a feeder about 10 feet away from the nest box that I have been putting out mealworms on ( I know peanuts are to be avoided when chicks are around) but I wondered if this was a good idea or not as it attracts lots of other birds. Today there was a magpie and I was concerned about the nest box. So question is this, should I stop with the mealworms or carry on putting them out.

Jiroma

I take down all of my feeders except for my hummingbird feeders during nest season. I do this to avoid attracting jays, crows and magpies to the backyard because I usually have chickadees nesting in our nestbox. Nesting birds don't need birdfood, they need worms and bugs, which they can find on their own. I have seen crows take baby robins out of the nest, they could easily take something the size of your Blue Tits. Good Luck and let us know how they are doing.

I dont want to tempt fate but they seem to be thriving. The meal worms I'm putting out do attract other birds but they dont seem to bother the bluetits. I've noticed that the bluetits stop at the feeder mostly on their way out so it could be that THEY are feeding on the mealworms and whatever they collect from the nearby trees goes straight to the chicks. This time last year I watched in despair as my 8 chicks became 5 and then 3 and only 2 survived and left the nest. Perhaps my mealworms are helping or it may well be that this is a good year for yellow caterpillars which are their main food source.
Jiroma