Diary 2007 Page Two
 

17th April, 2007
The last two weeks have been pretty hectic.  During the school holidays, we always have our wonderful granddaughter staying with us.  Most of our time is spent swimming, walking, shooting arrow or driving Go-Karts so it's always exciting.  This time, we also had a visit from a Wildlife Film Unit from BBC Wales.

Iolo Williams is a very popular wildlife presenter in Wales.  He makes programmes in Welsh and in English.  Last Autumn, he presented a series about seasonal wildlife.  Now, another series for the Spring is about to start. 

The first episode is on Monday next, 23rd April at 7.30 or 8.00pm on BBC Wales.  The Radio Times says one time but on-line it claims another!  Iolo was here last Tuesday, 10th with a film crew to see some of my own videos of badgers, foxes and birds.  They also stayed for supper and then watched the badgers and a fox feeding on our patio.

You can read about the programme and about Iolo by following these links:-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/southwest/sites/entertainment/pages/tvradio.shtml

(We are mentioned near the bottom of the column.)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/nature/sites/iolo/

(This page refers to the series from last Autumn.  I hope it will be updated for the new series soon.)

Robyn, our granddaughter was included in the fun and may appear in the programme.

Meanwhile, there is even more exciting news. I checked my bluetit box yesterday morning and, much to my surprise, she had laid the first egg.  I missed the actual laying but saw her leave a few minutes later.  This morning, I switched on the camera as soon as I got up at about 6.15 and was in time to see her still panting from all her efforts.  Her are a some pictures from the last few days showing the completed nest and then, the first two eggs.  I have ordered my regular supply of mealworms this morning ;-)
Empty box waiting for an egg
This shows the box on 14th April.		 The first egg was laid around 6.00am on 16th April
This was taken yesterday morning.		 The second egg was laid at around 6.00am this morning
This was taken this morning.

There are also a couple of short video.  The first shows her leaving after laying the first egg and the other one is after laying the second egg this morning.  They are both about one megabyte.

First egg
She gets out of the nest cup; does some housework and then leaves.
Second egg
She is still panting and then leaves the nest cup.  She returns for a couple of minutes before exiting the box.
18th April, 2007
The third egg was laid this morning and I was up to record it.  I turned on the camera at 6.05 and saw her fidgeting and not able to settle.  At 6.15, she began to have the contractions and the egg was laid very soon after that.  She rested for a while and then left the box before 6.30.  The picture shows her leave the eggs as she was about to go out.  There are 2 videos today.  The first shows her having the contractions and laying the egg and the second is when she gets up, reveals the eggs and leaves.
 

Laying the egg
Leaving the box

19th April, 2007
 She laid the fourth egg this morning at almost exactly the same time.  I love this screen grab from the video as it almost looks as if she is looking directly at the camera.

No video today.  Once all the eggs have been laid, I shall be starting the webcam inside the box.  At present, it is used exclusively for the badgers every evening from around 9.00pm till 10.00 pm.  If all the food has been eaten before that time, I will switch off in order to save electricity!
20th April, 2007
 The fifth egg was laid on schedule this morning at around 6.15am.

Yesterday, I spent some time trying to get rid of the dreadful 'hum' that I have been getting with the birdbox camera.  In the end, I managed to wreck the capture card so I have ordered another which should arrive on Monday.  Meanwhile, I have the box camera connected to my Canon DV camera. 
The new device is a USB one so I am hoping that I can move it between computers.  I may even be able to connect a better camera to the badgercam.
Here is a picture of her with five eggs.  It appears that there are six eggs but the shape at 10 o'clock is not an egg.

Five eggs but looks like six.

21st April, 2007
 There are now six eggs.  This is a clearer shot of the six eggs than the one I had earlier.

There is now a mention of the TV programme that will show some of my videos.  I have moved the link below as it stopped this page re-sizing.

I was speaking to the producer yesterday as there will be some clips of my videos added to the pages once they have the necessary permission form.

I have also found out that the programme; Iolo's Welsh Safari; will be available on Sky TV at Channel 972.  That's for BBC One Wales.  So, if anyone out there has Sky, you will be able to see the programme for yourselves.

Link to the TV programme that will show some of my videos:-

http://www.bbc.co.uk:80/wales/nature/sites/programmes/pages/welsh_safari_2007.shtml
 

22nd April, 2007
 The seventh egg was laid this morning at 6.10.  She left the box at around 6.25 so I assumed that she is going to lay again tomorrow.  However, it is now 8.45 and she has returned and is sitting on the eggs.  It looks as if incubation has started.  This means that there will be very little to report (I hope) for the next 14 days, or so.
I spoke too soon!  She has left the box again.  Maybe there will be more eggs?

Other news  I am very concerned about one of our badgers, Pinky.  She has been a regular visitor for at least seven years and was filmed last week whilst feeding on our patio area.
Two days ago, I watched her scoff everything that was in the feeding bowl and she looked alright.  Last night, she appeared to have a shake or tremor and also looked very skinny.  I'll try to get some video and photos of her tonight.  Once again, she cleaned up on the bowl of scraps.  Viv suggests that, as it's been so dry, we should start buying tins of dog food to supplement her diet until we get some rain.  At present, the ground is so hard and dry that there are very few worms, slugs or snails around.

23rd April, 2007
 It appeared that my bluetit couldn't make up her mind, yesterday.  She was in and out of the box all day.  It may be that, as the weather was pretty grey and chilly, she wanted to shelter.  In any case, I watched this morning to see her lay the eighth egg at 6.16am.  At one point, she looked up as if startled.  I went to the lounge and found the reason.  There was a magpie on the patio looking for left-overs from the badgers.
I shooed it away and watch her relax.  Then there was a great deal of calling between the male, in the hawthorn, and the female, until she left at 6.45.
The news of Pinky is better.  She was looking better when she arrived last night with two other badgers and they all fed happily on the patio.  The little vixen arrived first, in fact she was there at around 8.30.  While she ate her starter of pasta, I went to the fridge to get her main course of some bacon steaks which were past their best!  When I returned, she had gone.  She has come back in the past if I called but, this time, she didn't.  Her loss was Pinkie's gain!  She was one of the first to the bowl and had a good share of the bacon.  She then had a tussle with one of the others for the rest of the spaghetti.  They scoffed everything and had all left before 9.45 so I turned the lights and camera off.  I will add a short video of Pinky and Pals later.
 

Here is a video clip of Pinky with two others.  I have added a commentary.  Click the icon below.
24th April, 2007
 There were no more eggs this morning so it looks as if the clutch will be the same as last year.  Now, there will be a wait of about 14 days until the first egg hatches.  That should be around the 7th of May.  I'll continue with occasional updates as and when there is something to report.  Meanwhile we sit and wait thus also serve!

29th April, 2007
 Incubation has now been continuing for almost a week.  I have not yet seen the male visiting his mate to feed her and she seems to spend long periods outside of the box.  I hope this is because it has been quite warm for the last few days.
I have erected a mealworm feeder which I made from one of the large, plastic tubs in which I buy fat-balls.  I have taped the lid on and drilled two large holes on the side which are opposite to each other.
So far, we haven't seen any bluetits enter but there is a robin who uses it quite regularly and a great tit who appears baffled by how to get to the mealworms.
I am expecting the eggs to hatch in about a week.

4th May, 2007
 I was quite surprised to find that the first egg had hatched when I tuned in at 6.30.  It is now almost noon and there are possibly four chicks.  I am pleased to say that the food source seems to be pretty good as the male has been returning quite regularly with small grubs.
I have ordered a rushed box of mini mealworms to arrive tomorrow to supplement their supply.

I watched her eating some of the shells to replace her lost calcium.  She is a very noisy mother and encourages the chicks with a chattering call to get them to feed.  They seem to prefer to rest, at present.
Dad cooing at his first born?
Dad inspecting the first chick		 Five eggs and three chicks
Five eggs; 3 chicks
Both parents feeding the chicks
Both birds feeding four chicks
 


Click this link to see a video
of both birds feeding the chicks.
It is 3 megs and lasts 1 min 40 secs.

NOTICE ABOUT THE VIDEOS
There is a dreadful 'hum' on the sound.  I have tried to get rid of it but it is almost certainly caused by the age of the camera.  I apologise for this but feel it is important to be able to hear the parents calling to the chicks.
I have not been able to see the chicks for some time.  It is now 5.40pm and I believe there are still only 4 eggs that have hatch.  Looks like an early morning for me!
5th May, 2007
 I was up before six, this morning and found 3 eggs still to hatch.  One hatched later last evening. Now, it's almost 12.30 and there are two to go.  I made a new mealworm feeder this morning.  It is the same as the one that is shown with instructions here:- FEEDER
 


The feeders in the hawthorn tree.


A close up of the new feeder in the hawthorn tree, .

 The mini mealworms arrived by post this morning from LiveFoodsDirect so the feeder is now up and ready to go.  As yet, I haven't seen and bluetits go in it.  It was very frustrating to see the male hanging upside-down on a branch just above it!
A sparrow showed interest but decided not to enter.  I still put regular mealworms in the big, bucket feeder and on the bird table each morning.  Here are a few pictures of it with visitors.
 

An irate blackbird who can't get in the feeder
This picture shows and very miffed blackbird who can't get at the worms.  He had had his share from the bowl on the bird table behind this feeder.
This one shows him, still miffed as a robin exits with food!  Grrr!

 		 He has some in his beak from the bowl on the bird table
Here he is again. The video camera has a fish-eye lens to film the inside of the feeder.  It is attached in front of the standard lens with sticky tape!!

If you click on a picture, it will open a larger version in a new window.

Meanwhile, back to the bluetits.  Here is a picture from the video. If you click the picture, it will open a larger version in a new window. To see the short video of both parent birds entering to feed the chicks, click the video icon, below.  It lasts about 23 seconds and is almost 2 megs in size. 

Both birds on feeding duties.
 


You can just make out the last egg at the six o'clock position
(Larger version if you click)

 6th May, 2007
 It has been a very worrying and frustrating day.  It began with two eggs still unhatched but, at around 8.30 this morning, we saw the female eating an eggshell.  So this left just one egg to go.  It is now almost 6.00pm and it's still there.
The day has been windy and wet with fine rain sweeping across in veils.  Luckily, it hasn't been that cold but we are still worried about the length of time that the chicks are left unprotected.  Today, there was one period of over 11 minutes when they were alone and exposed.
However, the real frustration has been that neither adult bird has discovered the mealworms.  There were times when one or other would be hanging upside-down within a foot or two of the feeder which in hanging in the hawthorn.  The sparrows and robins have been to it and taken advantage of any 'stray' that ventured too near the entrance holes.
We have been very worried that there would be a repeat of our disaster of 2005 when all the chicks died at around this stage.  It's quite distressing!  I hope to have better news tomorrow.