I was just reading on the web that blue tits only breed once per year. That's rather sad, I could have done a lot more for them last year but I just thought they'd have another go somewhere else ...
We had an old bird box - homemade, looking a bit seedy - that had been propped up against the back wall of our house on an old picnic table. It was just waiting to go to the tip. But then around March my oh noticed a pair of blue tits showing a lot of interest. So we let the box alone, and they nested and started raising a hatch of chicks. My oh peeked in when the parents were away from the nest and reported that there were 5 chicks. I told him off, and luckily it didn't put the parents off. All was going well, until I came into the garden one afternoon and noticed the box was upside down on the ground. I retrieved it and there was just one chick inside - dead. It looked nearly ready to fledge. No sign of the other chicks or the parents. I think it must have been the local cat, and as the box was just on a table, it would have been ridiculously easy.
So, fast forward to this March, we've put the nest box high up on the wall in much the same place. And removed the picnic table and everything else nearby, so I don't think the cat has any chance now. A pair of blue tits have started showing a lot of interest in the last week, but there's also interest from a pair of house sparrows. We're getting a 25mm nest box plate which we'll put on tomorrow. We're not too bothered about the sparrows, they have a big ivy covered tree at the front of the house, which a whole colony occupies already. Hopefully, the tits will take the nest box and have a much better chance than last year.
🤞🤞🤞
We had an old bird box - homemade, looking a bit seedy - that had been propped up against the back wall of our house on an old picnic table. It was just waiting to go to the tip. But then around March my oh noticed a pair of blue tits showing a lot of interest. So we let the box alone, and they nested and started raising a hatch of chicks. My oh peeked in when the parents were away from the nest and reported that there were 5 chicks. I told him off, and luckily it didn't put the parents off. All was going well, until I came into the garden one afternoon and noticed the box was upside down on the ground. I retrieved it and there was just one chick inside - dead. It looked nearly ready to fledge. No sign of the other chicks or the parents. I think it must have been the local cat, and as the box was just on a table, it would have been ridiculously easy.
So, fast forward to this March, we've put the nest box high up on the wall in much the same place. And removed the picnic table and everything else nearby, so I don't think the cat has any chance now. A pair of blue tits have started showing a lot of interest in the last week, but there's also interest from a pair of house sparrows. We're getting a 25mm nest box plate which we'll put on tomorrow. We're not too bothered about the sparrows, they have a big ivy covered tree at the front of the house, which a whole colony occupies already. Hopefully, the tits will take the nest box and have a much better chance than last year.
🤞🤞🤞
