The blue tit is still busy bringing in and arranging and rearranging nesting material. This seems to be mainly moss with the occasional piece of grass or straw which our little nest builder appears to have some difficulty placing.
We have very quick glimpses of what I presume is the male bird having a quick peek to see how things are progressing. Lots of time is being spent in the box.
From time to time one bird also pecks around the entrance hole.
The female is still pushing the material up to one side of the box leaving a clear
working space. She seems to sift through the material and at times it seems material
is discarded and taken away.
Each night one of the birds returns to roost in the box.
The video below show clips of the activity from 1 April -
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Nature Web
List of visits to Nest Box Cam in April
Material is still being brought into the nesting box and at times taken out again. This has mainly been moss but latterly other materials are being collected. The male has started to show interest and entered the box on a few occasions just to have a good look around and inspect his mate’s work. We are not too sure how involved he has been at collecting the materials as at times it appears that he may have passed some in to the female as she waits at the entrance. There are periods of extreme activity followed by quiet times when maybe the birds are feeding, building up their strength for what is to come. Each night one bird we think the female roosts in the box.
The video below show clips of the activity from 5 April -
There’s been a boost in activity. We popped some horse hair (it came from a bag of nesting material that we bought when we had zebra finches) and our blue tits along with a pair of great tits nesting in another nest box soon collected everything that we put out. Our pair also managed to find a few white feathers so it seems that their thoughts are turning to comfort. It looks as though the cup in which the eggs will be laid is being formed at the back of the nest box so I hope the eggs when they are laid are in camera range!
The video below show clips of the activity from 9 April & 10 April.
Effort now seems to be being concentrated on the cup area where the eggs will be laid. Feathers are being brought in the line the cup. The male bird is visiting more often to check on progress and it usually joined by the female. After a very quick greeting he leaves her to it. There also seems to be lots of pecking action arpund the nest box entrance.
The video below show clips of the activity from 11 April & 13 April.
Nest building completed, the female blue tit has now begun egg laying. Early each morning for the last three days she has laid one egg. After laying the female brings in more nesting material with which to cover the eggs. The male showed lots of interest once the first egg had been laid and is also feeding his mate tit bits. This probably strengthens the pair bond as once incubation begins the female will need to rely on him for her food. Being fed by the male also means the female can conserve her energy as she is carrying a developing egg every day.
The video below show clips of the activity from 16 April & 18 April.
The female blue tit is still laying one egg every day. Each morning she has covered
the eggs and left the nest but it seems that as the day warms up -
We popped some black poodle wools outside just to see if she would take it as nest
building material and as you can tell from the colour of the nest she has made good
use of it as has a great tit nesting in another box in the garden. The female spends
quite a bit of time during the day attending to the eggs -
The video below show clips of the activity from 22 April.
There are now at least 8 eggs in the nest. It’s difficult to be certain whether this is the total number as some of the nest cup is out of view of the camera. The female is now spending most of the day incubating the eggs leaving the nest box only for short periods. Whilst in the nest she pays close attention to the eggs and seems to be turning them often. Following some of her short trips out of the box she will return with more nesting material.
The male is very attentive bringing food in for his mate although at times it is hard for him to spot her under the nesting material.
The video below show clips of the activity from 26 April.
Really more of the same. The female spends most of her time in the nest incubating and turning the eggs frequently, She pops out for quick breaks maybe comfort breaks so that the nest remains clean.
The male also visits frequently bringing food and also seems to spend a bit of time preening her.
The video below show clips of the activity from 27 April.