Blue tit chicks killed in birdbox. Should the nest be removed (1 Viewer)

[birdboxcamera]

Hi
Apologies for the blunt title there but I’m unsure what to do.
I built a birdbox in January with a camera internally and within days some Bluetits were visiting. 5 months later, they built a nest and there were 9 chicks and one unhatched egg. About 1 1/2 weeks into the chicks being born, 6 had gone. I just assumed they had died and the birds had taken them out of the box. But then the following evening the three other chicks were pecked/killed/eaten. The identification is difficult to what bird killed the chicks, due to the resolution been low and it has a purple hue, due to being a night vision cam. The purpose of the box was to get my 4yo invloved, which it did, so the resolution was not high on the list, as I was unsure if any birds would visit. But it looks to be either a larger Bluetit or a Sparrow, as there are loads of Sparrows in the area.

The Bluetits visited for two more days, firstly to keep bringing food and then to sit on the dormant egg and now they have not been for two days.

I feel like I should clean the nest out but I read the birds can nest a couple of times a year and I don’t want to spook them but I also don’t want to put others off visiting.

The box is up in the eaves of the house. Should I clean out or leave and hope the bluetits or other birds will visit?

thanks

 

[Kits]

Welcome to Birdforum.

Blue tits tend to have only one brood a year so it should be okay to clean out the box.

 

[birdboxcamera]

Okay, thank you for the information. I shall clear out shortly.

 

[KC Foggin]

Hi there and a warm welcome to you from those of us on staff here at BirdForum

We're glad you found us and thanks for taking a moment to say hello. Please join in wherever you like

 

[birdboxcamera]

Thank you very much, I appreciate the warm welcome.

 

[Sunnyside Acre]

Hello, sadly I check our bird box and found the bird sitting there, curious but stupidly I had another look the next day and the bird was not there just 7 beautifully formed eggs. There has been no signs of the two blue tits since then. Is there any chance they will continue to ensure that the eggs are hatched etc. A very inexperienced birder

 

[pianoman]

To sunnyside: I doubt if you just looking in the box would be enough to make the parents abandon the nest, so leave it there a little longer.
To birdboxcamera: If cleaning out and re-fixing the box, could the entrance hole be too big/ 2.5 cm is enough for blue tits, and it excludes most predators

 

[Andy Adcock]

The obvious culprit for this would be Great-spotted Woodpecker. To prevent a repeat, make the hole smaller and make the box deeper so any potential threat, cannot reach down to the chicks even if they can get their head in. If you do find a Woodpecker to be responsible, you can reinforce the entrance hole with tin plating because they will enlarge the hole to get at the chicks.