Diary 2006 Page Two

Diary 2006 Page Two

23rd April, 2006

The nest appears to be complete and it looks as if the female has taken up residence tonight. She was settled in the nest cup when I checked the camera this evening.
The last few days have been quite frantic. She has been bringing material and the nest is now so deep that she can see out of the nest hole just by stretching up a little.
The male has been roosting in the box every night except for one day when he was absent. I assumed that he had been 'told' to shape up or move out!
This morning, there were at least two droppings in the nest when he left!
Over the last couple of days, she has been bringing soft material for the nest. I found that some Kapok, that I put out last year, had been raided. I thought she had been getting wool from the nearby hedges. A neighbour kindly gave me some fur from her long-haired retriever which I put inside a fat-ball feeder.
I was not prepared for the short time that it took for the female to find it. She was pulling it out only minutes after I put it out. I managed to get some video of it but, unfortunately, towards the end, the camera decided to focus on the background so she goes out of focus. She didn't return again as the nest was now deep in Toby fur! The rest all disappeared during today. Much of it was taken by a great tit who looked like Emperor Franz Joseph with a huge white moustache!

Here is a picture of the bluetit all curled up in the nest cup this evening. I wouldn't be surprised to find the first egg in the morning.
Last week, as the nest was nearing completion, I ordered some mealworms on a two-week standing order. There are now some in my home-made feeder (Click here for instructions and pictures)
I also have some in a new feeder. It's a large plastic bucket that the fat-balls came in. I have made two large holes in it for access. So far, I haven't seen either being used. There is a robin who snatches up any escapees, though ;-)

Click this icon to see the video of her collecting some fur.
The holder is at an angle as it got caught up on a branch.
It's 2 megs and lasts for 38 seconds

27th April, 2006

Bird Box Latest
For the last few days, I have been expecting to see the first egg. The box has been recorded from 5.00am each morning but still I can't see an egg. Twice, I thought there was one, but each time it turned out to be a white feather!
I am really pleased that they have found the mealworms in the plastic bucket. I saw the male bring a prepared one to the female whilst inside the nestbox. They have been making regular visits but I can't tell if it's both birds or just one.
I shall record again tomorrow.
Other Birds
I managed to get a few pictures of a wimbrel on Tuesday as it was patrolling the tide-line on the Cleddau river at Black Tar. I am pleased to say that the goldfinches are now regular visitors to the niger seed feeder.

Badgers and Foxes
The badgers are arriving later as the evenings get lighter. At present, they arrive around 9.30 and have scoff everything very quickly. Depending on how many there are and whether they are disturbed or not, they manage to clean up and leave between 10.00 and 10.30. A few days ago, I set a USB webcam up attached to the laptop to get a time-lapse video of the badgers feeding on the deck. The pictures were taken at three second intervals so the motion is a bit jerky. I will try again with a setting of 1 per second and see if it's any better. Meanwhile, here is the original one with three badgers...eventually! Click the video icon:- It is 2 megs and lasts for 1 minute 20 seconds.
The fox has been arriving most nights and often sits or lies on the lawn hoping for the door to open and have some sausages thrown to him. I am hoping to get him to come right up to me, eventually. At present, he will come onto the deck and grab a piece of sausage; providing it is not too close to the door.

29th April, 2006
The first egg was laid this morning at 0618. I managed to get some video of her laying but haven't had a chance to edit it, yet. Meanwhile, here are a couple of screen grabs that I got this morning. I shall be watching for the next egg tomorrow.

1st May, 2006
I was almost taken by surprise this morning when she laid the third egg rather earlier. Luckily, I had already started the video capture before 0600 BST. She laid the egg just after six. I have edited a short video clip of her laying the second egg. Unfortunately, the first video, which I did through the VCR has ghosting from the TV on it. The video is about 2 megs in size and lasts just over a minute. I have allowed the video to continue for a while after the actual laying as she is seen to open her beak and pant for some time. Make sure that you have the sound on as you will be able to hear the strange clicking noise that accompanies each contraction. It reminds me of someone cracking their knuckles. I have no idea what is making the noise. Any suggestions, please?
Today, she stayed in the box for twenty minutes after laying. Some of this time was because there was a magpie on the patio. I heard it through the microphone in the box so went to shoo it away.
Here are a couple of pictures of her after laying the third egg this morning. There are larger versions linked if you click the pictures.
I am pleased to say that I have also finished laying. The new laminate floor in the kitchen looks really good!

Video of laying second egg

5th May, 2006
Egg laying has continued at the rate of one a day so, this morning, there were seven eggs.
Yesterday, the female spent so long in the nest that I thought that incubation had started. She has been sitting for quite some time this morning, too.
I have been hoping to grab some video of her being fed by the male but no luck, yet.
Another thing that is very noticeable this year is that the female uses the surrounding of the nest cup as a trampoline! Many times, before she leaves, she bounces around the complete box. I assume this is to compact the nesting material. She also flaps her wings quite vigorously to stir up the loose feathers which then settle in the nest cup and conceal the eggs.
I shall be adding some video as soon as I get some free time.
Here are some screen shots of her eggs from four to seven.

6th May, 2006
The eighth egg was laid this morning and she appears to have started incubation. She has been out of the nestbox, but for only short periods and the male has been in to feed her several times. He also calls to her and she leaves the box to receive food from him perched in the hawthorn tree.
I managed to get a bit of video of her laying and also of the male feeding her inside the box. The egg was laid in double quick time this morning. I counted about a dozen contractions and there it was!

This video shows her laying the eighth egg.
It is 1 Meg and lasts for 45 seconds.

This video shows the male feeding the female in the box. It is 1 Meg and lasts for 24 seconds. Listen to her 'Purrrr'!

8th May, 2006
Incubation has certainly started. There are eight eggs in the clutch this year. Assuming all goes well, they should hatch around the 18th of May. I have been surprised at how long the female is away from the nest. On one occasion, she was AWOL for 12 minutes and the temperature was only 7.5°C outside. Other times have been up to 8 minutes. The male is a frequent visitor, bringing mealworms for his mate.
There won't be much to report for the next 10 days, I hope!

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