Mr Musgrave's bird-box

June  5th
The nest is empty this morning. They were there at 7 o'clock last night and gone at 9am this morning.

Great that all six survived to leave the nest. They will live on insects and caterpillars over the summer and who knows, some of them may even be back next year to start their own family in my bird-box.
​June  5th
The last three chicks are still in the nest four days after their siblings fledged.

The weather has got much colder recenty so maybe they much prefer their snug nest.
June  3rd
17 days old and these three still haven't left the nest. You will notice that their tail and wing feathers are developing a blueish tinge.
June  2nd
Looks like these three chicks are still not strong enough to leave the nest.
June  1st
It's been three days since I checked the nest. Today when I checked there were only three of our six chicks in the nest.

It looks like the missing three have fledged (left the nest). Blue tits normally take about 18 days before they are ready to fledge.  ​At this stage our chicks are all about 15 days old. I reckon that the weather has been so good that the parents were able to get lots of food for them so they had enough strength to fledge earlier than normal.
May  29th
The blue tit clan are getting very lively. Two of them have decided to leave the nest as it is getting  very cramped. They are covered with feathers now and one of them even has wing feathers that are turning blue. 

Not alone are the parents having to keep the chicks fed, they also have to remove the babies' poo which is done in a little sack - YEUCH!
May  26th
Look at those hungry mouths.​ Each baby can eat up to 100 caterpillars a day.

Amazing how fast the feathers have grown in just a week.

​Mum and Dad are really busy bringing them insects these days. All six chicks are moving also which is good news. 
May  22nd
​Some feathers beginning to grow. Watch the video to see them opening their beaks for food. 
​May  19th
​Mrs Blue Tit is taking good care of the new arrials by keeping them nice and warm.
May 18th
​So, I got a big surprise this morning when I checked out the bird-box. Six tiny pink blue tits have arrived. This is 14 days after the mother started incubating the eggs.

​They look very funny with their big eyes and tufts of feathers on their heads.

In the video you can hear the mum and day chirping madly to frighten me away from their young.
​May 16th
​Still waiting our chicks' arrival. 

Remember we learnt about how long ago the milkman would deliver bottles of milk with foil tops to peoples doorsteps. Well, the clever blue tits of the time learnt how to open the foil tops, to get at the cream underneath.
May 13th
​She sneaked out to eat today so I got a quick photo. No real change to the eggs.
May 12th
Mum's gone off to get some food.

Did you know that she will pluck feathers from her belly to create a bald spot to provide as much warmth to her eggs as she can. This is called a 'Brood Spot'. 
​May 11th
​She's still incubating the eggs.

Incubation lasts almost two weeks and whilst the female is sitting on the eggs, the male defends the area around the nest site from other blue tits, so protecting the available food needed for both adults and, later, the young. He also brings food to his mate. 
May 9th
​Looks like she has started to incubate the eggs. She will sit on the eggs for up to 14 days before they begin to hatch so we have a while to wait yet before we see any chicks.
May 7th
​Looks like we will have six eggs. She has been outside a lot replenishing her energy after laying all those eggs.
May 6th
​Sneaked another photo when I saw her heading out to feed. We now have 6 eggs and she seems to have brought in more moss and wool.

While I was taking the photo she came back and was not happy. She started chirping her alarm call https://www.british-birdsongs.uk/blue-tit/?type1521
May 4th
​I haven't seen her leaving the bird-house in a while so had a peek in this evening. She's sitting on the eggs so may be have started incubating the eggs. Incubating is when she sits on the eggs to keep them warm until they are ready to hatch.
May 2nd
​It's been six days since I checked out our blue tits nest. I saw her leaving this morning to get food and had a quick peek. Inside were four cream coloured eggs with brown speckles.
May 1st
​Blue tits eat insects and spiders, also berries, fruit and seeds in winter.
​They especially like peanuts, seed cake, seeds and fat but will also check out almost any food put out to attract birds.
April 30th
​There are over 2 million Blue Tits in Ireland. They are the third most common bird seen in Irish gardens, after robins and blackbirds.
April 29th

​Blue tits doing chin-ups.
April 28th
Blue tits grow to about 12cm long - that is about the length of a small spoon. They weigh about 10g - that is about the weight of a new pencil.
April 27th
Blue tits are very active and noisy birds. You can have a listen to their song, call and alert song here.
https://www.british-birdsongs.uk/blue-tit/?type718
April 26th
So, after nearly three weeks building her nest Mrs Blue Tit has finally moved in. She is really pretty and looks very comfy in her new home. She is turned away from the entrance which I thought was strange.

She will lay 1 egg per day from now on and will lay somewhere between 7 and 14 eggs. This takes a huge amount of energy.
I am going to leave her in peace for a few days while she is laying her clutch of eggs in case I frighten her off. I will put up some blue tit facts each day in the meantime.
April 25th
Some  more moss and feathers have arrived but I don't see a lot of change from the day before.

We have had very little rain in the last seven weeks it is a good idea to put out water for the birds. You can find tips for making birdbaths here. ​https://www.rspb.org.uk/get-involved/activities/give-nature-a-home-in-your-garden/garden-activities/maketheperfectbirdbath/

They not only use the water to drink but they love to take a bath in the water also. Have a look here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vz9tkg4EgDE
April 24th
Not sure what she's up to now. More feathers, hair and wool have arrived but just seems to be messier than ever. 

​The photo of the blue tit looking out is not from my bird-box but I thought it was a cool photo.


Remember we read in our Small World about milk being delivered to houses in bottles with metal foil caps long ago?  Blue tits would remove the foil from the bottle of milk and collect the cream from the top. Sneaky little things!
April 23rd
Mrs Blue Tit has been busy forming a bowl shape today so the nest is looking a bit more organised.

I'm not sure if the blue tit photographed on my bird feeder is our nester. Blue tits  have to get lots of protein and nutrients at these times as they are so busy building their nests and preparing to lay the eggs.
April 22nd
​Lots more hair, fur and feathers have arrived. Is that bits of sheep wool I see? The nest is looking very messy at this stage but quite snug. 
April 20th
She has spent the last 24 hours bringing in more horse and dog hair and a few feathers. She must be close to moving in now.
April 19th
Lots more dog hair is arriving has arrived today. Some of the hair might be horse hair also as there are horses nearby.
April 18th
A feather has arrived today to add that extra bit of comfort to the nest. You can also see the bowl-like nest beginning to form.
April 17th
A busy day in the bird-box today - I hope she's been keeping within the 2km travel limit.

The floor of the box is now completely covered. She's brought in some bits of dg hair for that added touch of comfort. I t looks like it came from the labradoodle next door rather than from my own labrador, Molly.
April 16th
Great progress in the last day. She is building up the sides and filling in the bottom of the nest in the middle.
April 15th
Our blue tit has made great progress on her nest. She has formed the outside and left a hole in the middle for the eggs - clever little bird.
April 11th
The female blue tit builds the nest with little or no help from the male. She has been really busy the last few days. Here's a video of her entering the bird-box with some more building material.

She uses moss mostly and there's lots of that on my lawn. 

It can take her up to two weeks to build the nest.

April 10th
Lots of activity around the birdhouse recently as blue tits are checking it out as a potential home. I had a bird-box up in this position for about 8 years until it rotted away. Maybe some birds returning were even born here?

Then I could see a blue tit bringing in bits of something frequently. On looking inside you can see she is using bits of moss to form the nest.
​
​March 21st
Birdhouse made out of scraps of wood. Used bit of an old wellington as a hinge so we can lift up the roof and see in.

The hole size is 25mm which is the perfect size for blut tits. This size is too small for bigger rival birds or invaders to get in.
​
If you want to build your own bird-box the plans can be found here.
https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/diy/how-to-make-your-own-bird-box/