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UK nestbox watchers - an early warning (1 Viewer)

DavidJJones

DavidJJones

Garden Bird & Bug Watcher
If you haven't even started to think about next Spring, this cold weather may be a good time to get on with any nestbox preparations you might need to make, especially if you are going to install nestbox cameras.

Just before Christmas I noticed a male Great Tit being territorial in my garden and decided to clear away the spider webs from my camera box and prepare the place for photography in the Spring. The cctv cameras were switched on on Boxing Day. This morning, with it still 0C outside the cameras recorded a pair of Great Tits making a typical inspection visit, with the male entering first, looking around briefly before being joined by his partner. He remained crouched in a corner with beak open much of the time as she ignored him before he left after about half a minute and she continued to make her own inspection.

Next to be tackled are my Starling boxes where there is at least one bird roosting. I need to check the cameras for any infestations by mites (they like the heat of the electronics and seem able to get past my efforts to seal the cameras!) before the nesting season starts.

My diary entry for today includes a sequence of images from that visit. With the optimism that visits brings I will be starting up my nestbox diaries as the new year begins, although I will not be starting any webcams until later.
 
Marmot said:
Slightly different but about 3 weeks ago we noticed that a Wren has made a nest in the porch roof which it uses for night roosting, it is newly made as the moss in it is fresh. At least he has chosen a nice warm comfy spot. Here is a picture that Ian took

http://www.birdforum.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=172296&d=1229185729
Click to expand...

Hello Marmot,

I'm afraid that Wrens seem to be just occasional visitors to our garden these days. I've found small wren nests here in the distant past, although they didn't show any signs of actually being used by the female. The nearest we've ever got was when a Wren fledgling joined a family of Robins in their nest for a week or so back in 2000 - an amazing sight to watch as it took its turn to be fed by the Robin mum and dad, snuggled down with the Robin chicks at other times, and only left the nest when it needed to take a toilet break!

Today's Great Tit visit was almost an exact re-enactment of many inspection visits that I've watched here in the past so I'm greatly encouraged. It's funny that in the years this box has been up (pre-1995, although it wasn't used for nesting until 2000) it has never been used for roosting, and yet inspection visits typically start around Christmas. The female never moves in until close to the first egg being laid, and once the chicks fledge none of the family returns until the next cycle commences the following Christmas.
 
The nest box images are fascinating David, I often wonder if it's worth putting up new boxes as one box has never been used & the other was unused this year but 3 Wrens successfully fledged the year before.

I always get a high number of newly fledged birds of various species feeding, so they must be nesting nearby. My garden is well stocked with mixed hedgerow & mature trees. Many area are left to overgrow to provide a good habitat.
I would love them to nest in a box as the Wren family was amazing to watch but I may have shot myself in the foot by making the habitat too inviting.
What do you think?
Any advice would be welcomed. The Wren image is gorgeous Marmot
 
pie said:
The nest box images are fascinating David, I often wonder if it's worth putting up new boxes as one box has never been used & the other was unused this year but 3 Wrens successfully fledged the year before.

I always get a high number of newly fledged birds of various species feeding, so they must be nesting nearby. My garden is well stocked with mixed hedgerow & mature trees. Many area are left to overgrow to provide a good habitat.
I would love them to nest in a box as the Wren family was amazing to watch but I may have shot myself in the foot by making the habitat too inviting.
What do you think?
Any advice would be welcomed. The Wren image is gorgeous Marmot
Click to expand...

Hello Pie,

I can't in all honesty give advice beyond saying good for you if you have already made your garden into an inviting habitat. I try to aim for that balance but my garden is rather too small to make it work well. I would love to greate the habitat that would provide irresistable nesting spots for the Goldfinches that are daily visitors these days but I guess that I should be happy with watching them bring their youngsters to feed here.

As for putting up nests, as I said in my reply to Marmot, my GT box was up for five years before anything moved in. My artificial House Martin nests were up for even longer, and I had just about given up on them when a family moved in in an August. I have a Robin box, complete with camera, which I put in a 'perfect' spot and that was used just once.

My philosophy with nest boxes is to put them into places that seem to be inviting, and then wait, wait, wait!
 
Marmot said:
Slightly different but about 3 weeks ago we noticed that a Wren has made a nest in the porch roof which it uses for night roosting, it is newly made as the moss in it is fresh. At least he has chosen a nice warm comfy spot. Here is a picture that Ian took

http://www.birdforum.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=172296&d=1229185729
Click to expand...

Aaaaahh...very sweet. This guy is wasting no time:-O; the first of many!

DavidJJones said:
I would love to greate the habitat that would provide irresistable nesting spots for the Goldfinches that are daily visitors these days but I guess that I should be happy with watching them bring their youngsters to feed here.
Click to expand...

Hi David. I have goldfinch that nearly every year nest in my garden. They prefer an apple tree, not too high up seems to be to their liking. They have also chosen a willow tree, higher up this time and near the edge. I don't know why they liked that; it seemed more exposed and vulnerable to me. Good luck.

Joanne
 
Ah... if only I had the persuasive powers to justify spending on a webcam-equipped nestbox to the wife, but I don't.
 
joannec said:
Hi David. I have goldfinch that nearly every year nest in my garden. They prefer an apple tree, not too high up seems to be to their liking. They have also chosen a willow tree, higher up this time and near the edge. I don't know why they liked that; it seemed more exposed and vulnerable to me. Good luck.

Joanne
Click to expand...

Hello Joanne, thanks for that. There are a couple of apple trees in my nieghbour's garden and they overhang the fence, so it's possible I could claim any nesters in them! I shall keep my fingers crossed.....

mikfoz said:
Ah... if only I had the persuasive powers to justify spending on a webcam-equipped nestbox to the wife, but I don't.
Click to expand...

Hello Mikfoz,

Try building your own - it's a lot cheaper. I currently have nine cameras either in or looking at eight nestboxes, and all the equipment (including cabling, multiplexers, and time-lapse recorder) was bought either at carboot sales or on eBay. The most expensive cameras (the colour ones in the Great Tit box) being used this year cost me less than £7 each on e-Bay - my first b/w camera cost all of 50p!

My advice would be to start off with a black & white camera (that runs off 12volts, although that 50p camera was mains powered) as it makes the lighting of the box much easier. Infra-red lights can stay on all the time.

You get the camera first and then make a nestbox to accomodate it (and the birds of course!). Then you just need to arrange a 12v supply to wherever you put the box, along with a suitable video cable back to a recorder with a TV attached and you've got amazing daytime TV (24/7 TV if you have IR lighting). I know that you can buy cheap wireless cameras but I have avoided those having had problems with wireless video senders not giving reliable links.

That basic set-up can be added to and changed as time goes by. For example, the B/W cameras I use in my Starling, Swift and House Martin boxes have built in microphones. I aquired a good radio-microphone at a car-boot sale and that is now part of my Great Tit box arrangement.

Go for it - it is worth it, even if you keep it simple. It gives you a fantastic insight into 'life in the box' and is brilliant reality TV
 
Thanks for the advice David, I was thinking of moving the unused box but as you say it can take years before someone moves in so I might leave well alone just in case!
Good luck with the camera box
 
An end of January update

DavidJJones said:
If you haven't even started to think about next Spring, this cold weather may be a good time to get on with any nestbox preparations you might need to make, especially if you are going to install nestbox cameras.
Click to expand...

Since my first posting, the month of January has seen the Great Tit box inspected by the female Great Tit nine times. The male sometimes appears at the entrance but he hasn't been inside since 27 December. He seems to be more concerned with making his presence known around the garden. As a bonus, one day a Robin appeared outside and a Wren popped in for a few moments!

The Starlings are very different. When I switched the cameras on before the New Year they were roosting together, but were always quarrelling. By 10 January the male had moved out into the adjacent box and with the exception of one attempt to move back in with his partner they have slept in 'separate rooms' ever since. It's interesting to follow their roosting times as they change with the increasing daylight hours, although cloudy days are also a factor.

On two days during the month the female brought in a couple of bits of nesting material only to remove them again later in the day - just practicing? Also, she has performed several of the shuffles that will be used to compact nesting materials once nest building starts for real.

If you are still wondering about putting up a camera equipped nest box but you want a change from the 'usual' Blue/Great Tits I really do recommend a Starling box, or better still a pair of them (but make sure that you put up a BT or GT box as well!). If you do put some up, make sure you include a microphone in the set-up so that you can hear him serenading his mate, or the chaos of a tiff!
 
An update, and a word for the Starling (in the UK)

It's while since I posted my last update -

The Great Tits have started nest building here, over two weeks earlier than last year, with the first bit of moss 'root' (they are not really roots - is the correct name rhizoids?) brought in on the 10th and the first green moss foliage today. If you are watching boxes in your gardens be warned. Construction is strictly a part time occupation in the early stages. This morning's actvity at the box was over by 10.30am.

In contrast, my Starlings are almost two weeks later than they were last year. They had a false start the day before yesterday, with straw brought in and then removed again!

Thinking of Starlings, can I put in a word in for them here. As I said in my first posting, if you can, put one or (better) two boxes for them. They are fascinating to watch and listen to, and they need every bit of help we can offer. An article in the April edition of BBC Wildife describes the problem caused by the fact that younger people do not realise how much they have declined, and so are not inclined to support efforts to help them recover.

When my children were young we used to see flocks of hundreds passing over our house on their way to their roost. This evening I saw just twelve gather in a nearby tree before they headed off to the few roof spaces (and my boxes) available to them in the neighbourhood.

And finally a Robin has already built a nest in an old box, and now seems to be waiting for the right moment to produce her family, at least that is what I think is happening...
 
A further update - the first eggs

Since the last update, my Great Tit female has been very busy for just an hour or so each morning, and she is making good progress with the nest. As I said in my previous posting, if you have a Great (or Blue) Tit nest box (with no camera) in your garden you need to watch out for activity before 10am. After that it may appear as though the box isn't being used!

In contrast to the Great Tits, my Starlings are now getting more and more behind last year's schedule, with no sign of them starting to build their nest yet.

However, it's the Robins who have won the race for the first egg, in fact today's was the third, and the female has already started to incubate them! As I write this at 5.30pm she is looking out across the garden towards the cctv camera that is watching her!
 
Another update - webcam now running

In the last ten days the Starlings have had one false start at nest building, after which the female removed just about everything that had been brought in. Since then they have done nothing towards nesting.

The Robin on the other hand is now busy incubating, only leaving her nest for no more than an hour and a half total each day (an average of between 8-9minutes each trip out). She has at least three eggs but I haven't risked approaching the nest since incubation started, prefering to wait until I can count chicks instead. I estimate that hatching is likely to occur 2-3 April.

In the Great Tit box, the female has reached the stage when she is bringing in soft stuff to cover the moss. This morning that included hair and wool. As usual, most activity takes place before 10am, although yesterday she had a short session in the early afternoon, and there were a couple of deliveries after 5pm. Once I see feathers being brought in then egg laying will follow soon after.

If you visit my website there is now a webcam covering all four of the nestboxes. At the moment the best time to watch is between dawn and around 10am GMT. However, the Robin does peep out of the box every so often throughout the day and occasionally the webcam catches a visit by her partner. At the moment Starling activity can be seen first thing in the morning with just occasional visits at other times, and then when they return to roost, usually from 6pm onwards. The wecam continues 24/7 so you can also see them throughout the night.
 
Update - Great Tit egg laying begins

Our Great Tit female laid her first egg at around 4.25am BST today (Saturday).

The Robin is still sitting on her eggs, although they should hatch in the next one or two days.

The Starlings stopped roosting in their boxes two night ago, but now appear to have decided which box to build their nest in, a job that is being done in morning sessions which start before 7am and go on until mid-morning.

A busy time ahead.....
 
A week into April

DavidJJones said:
Our Great Tit female laid her first egg at around 4.25am BST today (Saturday).

The Robin is still sitting on her eggs, although they should hatch in the next one or two days.

The Starlings stopped roosting in their boxes two night ago, but now appear to have decided which box to build their nest in, a job that is being done in morning sessions which start before 7am and go on until mid-morning.

A busy time ahead.....
Click to expand...

The Great Tits now have four eggs, and all goes well in that box;

The female Starling has moved back into what is now a completed nest, and I wouldn't be surprised to see her lay her first egg tomorrow;

The Robin continues to incubate her eggs even though they should have hatched by now. The first egg was laid on 16 March and as far as I can tell there are just four in the clutch. With incubation taking 13-14 days that suggests that the eggs should have hatched around 4 April.

And an extra today - I switched on the cameras in the Swift and House Martin boxes to check them ready for the end of the month, and discovered that the boxes have been used for roosting. There is what I believe is a Blue Tit in one of them tonight.
 
Starling eggs hatching

A long overdue update -

As I mentioned in a separate posting, the Robins abandoned their clutch of eggs after they failed to hatch, while the Great Tits went on to lay nine eggs between 4-12 April, and they are due to hatch in the next day or two.

However, the Starlings have won the race to have the first chicks. They had five eggs between 8-12 April and three have hatched this morning, sooner than I had expected.

They share the webcam with the Great Tits, and the Swift and House Martin boxes (one of which is being used as a roost by a Blue Tit)
 
That's good news for the Starlings. The Starlings, and incidentally, the Sparrows, in my garden, are still collecting feathers at the moment. (I don't have any nestboxes)
 
What is going wrong?

DavidJJones said:
A long overdue update -

As I mentioned in a separate posting, the Robins abandoned their clutch of eggs after they failed to hatch, while the Great Tits went on to lay nine eggs between 4-12 April, and they are due to hatch in the next day or two.

However, the Starlings have won the race to have the first chicks. They had five eggs between 8-12 April and three have hatched this morning, sooner than I had expected.
Click to expand...

Well, After a promising start things have gone downhill ever since.

Four out of the five Starling eggs hatched 23-24 April, but with the male parent disappearing, the female hasn't been able to spend enought time hunting for food three of the chicks have died. The single survivor was looking healthy at the end of today, so with a lot of luck its mum will be able to keep this chick fed - she has a long way to go.

In the Great Tit box only seven of the nine eggs hatched 25-26 April and since then three of the seven chicks have died, despite both parents being active.

What I have noticed is that the parents (both Starling and Great Tits) are bringing in mostly very small food items, and sometimes I see the GT female return with nothing. I have seen just one very small green caterpillar so far.

I can't explain why so many of the eggs I've seen laid this Spring have failed to hatch, but could the food shortage be a consequence of last years bad summer? I'm certainly not seeing as many insects in the garden as I would expect by this time in April.
 
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