Diary 2008 Page One

17th March

I have been meaning to start this diary since last December when I first saw a bird roosting in my new box.  I have now been prompted to make a start by an email from another bird-watching cyber-buddy.
I now have a new birdbox with a colour camera.  It was recommended by another cyber-buddy who has written a very comprehensive review of it HERE.  Like Howard, I can recommend this box for its quality and value.  I would suggest that you don't put the wood shavings into the box as the first visitor refused to settle on the floor of the box but roosted in one of the 'windows'.  When I mentioned this to yet another cyber-buddy who also has these cameras, he advised me to remove the shavings as he had experienced the same behaviour.  I also added a new, thin piece of flooring as I was concerned that the drainage holes may catch a leg of the BT.
At first, she still roosted in the window section but, now, she settles at the rear of the box on the floor.
Now, my little bluetit can't seem to make up its mind whether it should start building a nest or not!  When I checked the box yesterday, there were several strands of grass inside.  Today, I saw her go into the box and she has taken everything out again!



This what the box looked like earlier this morning.  In the videos below, the grass has been removed.

Here are two videos.  Click on the video icon to open a new window.


This video shows the male come into the box.  He appears to settle on the camera.  The female then arrives and looks up at him and 'tells' him to leave!  He does so and she does some cleaning and then nesting shuffles.



This one shows the female stripping pieces of wood from the side of the box.  She drops one piece outside and then flies out with other bits.

19th March
There has been much to-ing and fro-ing over the last couple of days as the weather has been glorious.  We have had wall-to-wall Pembrokeshire -blue skies and calm conditions.  The female is still undecided about starting a nest but today there was the first sign of moss arriving in the box.  The picture shows a couple of strands that I saw this evening.  It's a start, anyway.
 


This was the box at 5.30 today.


And this was the box at 6.30!


At 7.00, she is on the floor.
21st March
There isn't much change, so far today.  It is very windy and I should imagine it would be difficult to fly into the box.  I haven't seen anyone in the box this morning since she left.  This is how the box looks at 2.00pm today.
Regular readers may be wondering about Pinky.  I am pleased to report that she didn't come back so we must assume that she died somewhere close by.  It was so distressing to see the poor old girl in such a state that we were pleased that she never came back.
It would appear that the pink nose (which is called a 'butterfly nose') is carried to her offspring as there are other 'Pinkies' who visit us regularly.
Our little vixen still comes and still carries her poorly leg.  There is no obvious sign of damage so it may have become a habit for her.  She has been like this for almost two years, now.

25th March
There has been quite a lot of activity today.  The image on the left was taken at 9.40 this morning and the one on the right at 5.20 this evening.
I have watched her bringing nest material in and out during the day.  One most occasions, she would bring something in and also remove something on her way out.  Sometimes, it was the same piece!  There were several pieces of very long straw/grass which were still sticking out of the nest hole after she had brought some of it in!


 



 

Here are two screen shot of her attempting to manhandle a very long piece of grass into the box.  She has to return to the nest-hole to grab another length as it is still hanging out.  In the end, she realises that it is not suitable and so takes it out again.  Click on the video icon to view the movie.
26th March

Nest building is continuing but she is still bringing bits in and taking them out again.  At present, she is pushing everything to the front of the box.  As she gets more in, it should start to cover the whole of the base of the box.  I am surprised at how often we see the male inside the box.  In past years, males have been conspicuous by their absence!

Last night, I tried to get some video of the badgers fighting over the food on our deck.  Unfortunately, one arrived on its own and had cleared most of the bowl before two others arrived.  They tried to shoulder each other out of the way so as to get the lion's share of any food.  Sometimes, they get quite aggressive.

27th March

The female has been very busy today and has almost covered the whole of the floor of the nest-box.  These two picture were grabbed today.  The one on the left was at 7.30 this morning and the one on the right was this evening.  This explains the difference in the tone of the pictures.  It was a bright, sunny morning but this evening had clouded over so the box appears darker.  However, it was not dark enough for the infra-red LEDs to come on.
I am hoping to get some video of the badgers tonight.
30th March

The badgers have not been so argumentative for the past few days.  There seems to be one fairly timid one that is always first and so gets the best pickings. I have been trying to capture their antics at the bowl but they won't play ball!
There has not been a great deal of change in the nest box over the last few days.  She is still bringing very coarse material into the box.  Yesterday evening, there was one very long piece of grass that was hanging at least 15 inches out of the entrance hole and was blowing about in the wind.  She removed it before settling for the night.  This is how the box looks this morning.

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