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We have several nest boxes in the garden at each spring at least some of them are occupied, usually by blue tits or great tits.

BLUE TIT

The smaller of the two species, the blue tit is an acrobatic little bird. Its plumage is mainly yellow blue and white with black eye stripes. It has a blue cap.

 GREAT TIT

The larger great tit has a black head with white cheek patches. It has a black stripe running down its chest which is wider and more defined in the male.

THE NEST BOX

We have several nest boxes attached to our house wall. They face East so they benefit from early morning sunshine but are shaded from afternoon sun. They also face away from the prevailing wind direction and therefore, also away from driving rain. A nearby magnolia tree offers more shelter and also a hopping off perch en route to the nesting boxes. Feeders and a bird bath are close by.

The nest box containing the camera has recently been moved into the central position. Since we put the box up a couple of years ago there had been no occupants and we thought a change of location may make it more attractive. As it happened a pair if great tits seemed to have already selected it and fortunately the move didn't deter them. Read more about this on Martyn's blog here.

The camera sends live action to a laptop inside the house via a wired USB connection. On the side of the nest box is a plastic 'window' that provides extra light onto the nest box. When the light level is sufficiently high the camera records in colour and resorts to monochrome when the light level falls.

The front section of the box can be removed to create an open fronted box suitable for a robin or blackbird.

Previously we have used a wireless camera but the connection to the laptop proved unreliable. The box was occupied by a pair of blue tits and if you are interested a diary of their activities was recorded here.