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Post by hfriel on Apr 23, 2022 8:30:13 GMT
 Finally have a BlueTit nest again, Greatit was visiting most days and doing ‘wiggles’, then last monday afternoon along came a pair of Bluetits and started building, nest almost finished now and hopefully an egg tomorrow or Monday 🤞 I pop in and read peoples updates every now and then, (lovely to see you back again Benn) looks to be a very promising year with lots of nests and eggs 🥚  unfortunately don’t get much time to respond or update at the moment.
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Post by Taz on Apr 23, 2022 9:59:20 GMT
Great news, look forward to your updates
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Post by suep on Apr 23, 2022 10:35:14 GMT
Lovely news for you Helen, Look forward to seeing any updates you can post.
Sue
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Post by WildlifePaul on Apr 28, 2022 12:22:58 GMT
Nice to see you back Helen, Good luck with the season!
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Post by hfriel on May 29, 2022 18:36:15 GMT
Thanks guys, sorry I’ve not been able to keep up with everyone posts, try to log in every now and then to get an overview, seems to have been a very good year for most. Should be lots of blue and great tits round next year as well as robins, wrens and starlings. I havnt been so lucky this year. Started off great with 9 Bluetit chicks hatching on the May18th, all went well till yesterday morning when my cat brought me in a present of the the mum. I was devastated. I still have 9 chick but with 10 days to go I’m not too optimistic. Not sure if the Dad can do this all on his own? he is using the mealworms though.  |
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Post by suep on May 29, 2022 18:40:06 GMT
Oh Helen, how devastating. Maybe Dad can work a miracle - I truly hope so. What a sad thing to happen  Sue |
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Post by Ann70 on May 29, 2022 20:08:27 GMT
Oh that must of been really upsetting for you to see.
Hope dad can continue to see his family fledge safely
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Post by sammi on May 29, 2022 20:43:57 GMT
Oh goodness me. Come on Dad we are all rooting for you. Let's hope he can get some to fledging  |
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Post by Taz on May 30, 2022 18:50:15 GMT
Oh no, such a shame. Keeping everything crossed that the male can take over and get them to fledging 🤞🤞🤞
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Post by matt on May 30, 2022 19:06:53 GMT
Helen that's awful - so sorry! Let's hope Dad can keep the show on the road.
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Post by hfriel on May 31, 2022 13:48:35 GMT
Thank you all for your kind wishes, so far there are 9 chicks still alive thanks to Daddy and plentiful supply of mealworms I don’t know what happens with nest hygiene, she seemed to spend half her time upside down cleaning out the nest, he doesn’t do any ‘Housework’ also she used to sleep over them at night and given that it’s been very cold the last few nights, I’m amazed they are all still here.  Anybody ever had a Dad solely rear the chicks? |
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Post by sammi on Jun 1, 2022 12:03:07 GMT
I've had a single parent do quite well before now but can't say if it was Mum or Dad. I know the mealworms made all the difference then. Hopefully they will manage to stay warm enough |
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Post by hfriel on Jun 4, 2022 18:50:21 GMT
Day 17 and still 9 chicks  He is the most amazing bird ever, despite torrential rain and cold he has managed to keep them all alive so far. he does look wretched though.  |
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Post by sammi on Jun 5, 2022 7:40:54 GMT
 Amazing work. Bless him. I am so pleased to hear everything is going well. Everything crossed for the perfect outcome
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Post by Ann70 on Jun 5, 2022 9:13:22 GMT
Wonderful to see, they look healthy
Good job dad
Look forward to seeing them fledge safely 😊
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Post by Taz on Jun 5, 2022 10:34:26 GMT
How amazing, he's doing a fantastic job.
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Post by suep on Jun 5, 2022 14:26:01 GMT
Brilliant job by Dad, what a superb little bird  Sue |
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Post by hfriel on Jun 8, 2022 15:34:44 GMT
All 9 fledged yesterday morning, Daddy managed to get them all out between 7.45 and 8.15am. He’s just such a special bird, I’ll be thinking of him on ‘Fathers Day’ Sunday week  I can see them in the trees in the garden as he’s still feeding them from the mealworm feeder. However I heard a bang this morning, looked out on the deck and saw what I thought was a dead baby bluetit. I forced myself to leave it alone (as advised) and lo and behold it righted itself, but it was very stunned and was there for ages, eventually Daddy came to the rescue again and beckoned it to the tree and all was well again. I stayed and watched it with binoculars while it was on the deck, just in case any birds or cats came (mine is locked into the house at the moment), it was lovely to be up so close to it  Now I can speak to my cat again.  locked into the house |
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Post by suep on Jun 8, 2022 18:23:21 GMT
What a brilliant outcome Helen, a superb dad. Pleased you’ve made friends with your cat again - just following instinct but hard for us to understand or witness. So pleased your little one rallied too. Amazing, wonderful result.
Sue
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Post by hfriel on Jun 8, 2022 19:52:26 GMT
Thanks Sue, yes all went so much better than I anticipated. The plentiful supply of mealworms also had a lot to do with it  |
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Post by sammi on Jun 9, 2022 12:48:28 GMT
 That's incredible work for Dad. To get all 9 to fledging. He deserves a medal
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Post by matt on Jun 9, 2022 15:41:23 GMT
What a great outcome Helen! I was fearing the worst, I must admit - well done on the mealworms!
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Post by Ann70 on Jun 9, 2022 19:41:21 GMT
 What a wonderful outcome for you Helen you must feel so relieved all went well, he’s been a brilliant dad and mum to them all and continues to look after them well
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Post by Taz on Jun 10, 2022 22:01:08 GMT
Fantastic news, I'm so pleased they all fledged in the circumstances 👏👏👏🥂🍾
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Post by hfriel on Jun 14, 2022 21:17:08 GMT
Thanks all, have to admit the monster cat did catch two of them, one she brought dead into the house, just like the Mum, but I spotted her catching the 2nd one and rescued it.
We did try to keep the cat in all day, but the Dad was still feeding them as late as 9.45 in the evenings and they were flying very low in the garden from one group of trees to another. So I decided then to get rid of the feeders altogether (I remember Malcolm and Elizabeth mentioning they did that after the chicks fledged) that solved the problem, Dad took them all off somewhere else and the monster is just catching little field mice now 😁
Hopefully the other 8 survive 🙏
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unfortunately don’t get much time to respond or update at the moment. 
He is the most amazing bird ever, despite torrential rain and cold he has managed to keep them all alive so far.
Amazing work. Bless him. I am so pleased to hear everything is going well. Everything crossed for the perfect outcome 
That's incredible work for Dad. To get all 9 to fledging. He deserves a medal 
What a wonderful outcome for you Helen you must feel so relieved all went well, he’s been a brilliant dad and mum to them all and continues to look after them well