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Post by starling78 on Apr 15, 2023 15:29:10 GMT
Got home from work to find the second female is now building in the nest box they were checking out this morning, lots of moss going in
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Post by Ann70 on Apr 15, 2023 15:32:42 GMT
Wow that sounds great Good luck on both boxes I know the feeling well with no camera and no nest Thanks for the encourage and hope Look forward to following the posts π
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Post by suep on Apr 15, 2023 16:01:22 GMT
Got home from work to find the second female is now building in the nest box they were checking out this morning, lots of moss going in Really good news , look forward to hearing your updates. Sue
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Post by starling78 on Apr 17, 2023 7:10:49 GMT
A little snippet of the starling turning her eggs this morning: on the bluetit front the second female is now lining her nest with soft material so the nest should be nearly completed, I think the first is already on eggs but how many is anyone's guess! although she is not happy by this arrangement as she saw them mating in my maple tree yesterday and angrily drove the second female away who went straight back into her box with the first female in hot pursuit, at one point I thought she was going to enter but luckily she just sat on the roof protesting a bit before giving up!
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Post by pete11 on Apr 17, 2023 7:31:06 GMT
Wow, high drama in the garden! Blue tit EastEnders Great to see more starling moments, too. You're having quite a season!
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Post by suep on Apr 17, 2023 9:39:39 GMT
Wow, exciting times at yours. So hope they all settle down and you get plenty of eggs. Sue
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Post by starling78 on Apr 17, 2023 17:06:50 GMT
Thanks I feel very lucky to have 2 bluetit nests this year, not in camera boxes but hey ho, they seemed to have favoured boxes higher up on the house wall rather than lower down boxes on fences. The second female has chose a box that I only put up last year just under the eaves but it was put up late in the season, coincidentally the first female had originally chose this box and had cleaned all the poo out from a winter rooster early on in the year before going on to nest in the one round the corner of the house!
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Post by Ann70 on Apr 20, 2023 5:42:37 GMT
What stage are your blue tits at Pete is it all going well
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Post by starling78 on Apr 20, 2023 9:27:15 GMT
Not much to report here, starling still incubating her eggs, haven't seen any activity on the camera from my green triangle box with the first bluetit but I guess she is just incubating now and the nest hole is a bit far from the camera for it to notice movement so I'll need to be watching it at the right time, the second female is still going to the other box more regularly maybe she has a couple of eggs so not quite ready to settle down yet. I also have a couple of boxes down at my allotment but I don't know if they have any takers yet, I'll pop down there in a bit as I need to plant some seeds and have a look
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Post by starling78 on Apr 22, 2023 18:04:21 GMT
All quiet at the allotment boxes from what I could see and I'm really beginning to doubt the first bluetit female in the triangle box is still around it's sooo quiet! I guess the test will be around the end of the month when the eggs should be nearing to hatch that the activity is bound to go up so should notice by then! the second female is still adding soft material to her nest, saw her bring in a feather earlier. Have another snippet of the starling turning her eggs a couple of days ago, should be seeing chicks in a week or so
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Post by WildlifePaul on Apr 22, 2023 22:30:33 GMT
Sounds like its all go at your place Keep us posted!
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Post by starling78 on Apr 26, 2023 13:36:20 GMT
The starlings chicks have hatched today haven't quite got a good enough pic to share with you all but hopefully once they get a bit bigger we can see more. It seems there is a bluetit nest at my allotment box as there was a bluetit scolding me whilst I was there today There was also the beginnings of a robin nest in my robin box there but lots of the nesting material seemed to be chucked out the box underneath so not quite sure what is happening there but will keep you posted if anything materialises.
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Post by Ann70 on Apr 26, 2023 13:53:33 GMT
Congratulations on the hatchlings π£ Good to now there are nests out there on going π
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Post by suep on Apr 26, 2023 16:49:31 GMT
Great news about the starlings, will look forward to pictures and updates. Sue
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Post by starling78 on Apr 30, 2023 12:33:20 GMT
Sadly this starling nest is no more I noticed there was only a brief visit to the box Saturday morning by what I presume was the male, the female seems to have gone awol so whether she has been predated or just abandoned the nest I don't know, perhaps there wasn't enough food and they died overnight as it has been a very slow start to spring, I cannot see anything but material on the camera but the nest isn't in full view, so that is the end of that one sadly, first failure in this box for me 2nd bluetit nest still going as planned looking at the activity from the pair so fingers crossed I get to see some fledglings.
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Post by Ann70 on Apr 30, 2023 13:02:43 GMT
Sorry to hear this sad news itβs probably kinder having no nest that to have an abandoned one Hope the blue tits do well
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Post by suep on Apr 30, 2023 14:06:01 GMT
Oh so very sorry to hear this Starling. When we are so up close and personal to nature it is upsetting when we have to witness this sort of thing but I guess thatβs the price we pay for observing these nests. So sad. Hoping for a good outcome with the blue tits Sue
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Post by starling78 on May 1, 2023 7:23:56 GMT
Thank you both, we have had a few visits to the box by starlings to have a root around so not sure if they are thinking again so I'll post an update if anything happens, there has also been activity around my other two starling boxes but will have to wait to hear the sound of chicks to know for sure. Just seen the female bluetit go back into the box after a short while of foraging which was nice to see
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benn
Senior Member
Posts: 138
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Post by benn on May 2, 2023 7:58:35 GMT
Sad to read this Starling. I was wondering whether your eggs had hatched last week as I noticed all the Starlings nesting under eaves on our street (5 sites) all started bring grubs from the fields to their nests on the same day.
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Post by starling78 on May 2, 2023 9:41:14 GMT
Sad to read this Starling. I was wondering whether your eggs had hatched last week as I noticed all the Starlings nesting under eaves on our street (5 sites) all started bring grubs from the fields to their nests on the same day. Thank you Benn, yes they all seem to start laying simultaneously, I guess it makes sense for all the young to hatch and fledge roughly the same time so the odds of any chick surviving is increased by safety in numbers. I've had at least 5 individual adult starlings in my garden today collecting nesting material, they seem to favour my garden for some reason well I do have plenty of material strewn around with a rabbit and two guinea pigs I even saw a ringed starling, looked like it had a silver bto ring on! I'm hearing young sparrows cheeping in the eves of the house opposite, the pair have been using this site for a number of years so looking forward to seeing them in my garden at some point
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Post by WildlifePaul on May 2, 2023 11:00:30 GMT
Sorry to hear about the starling nest
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Post by sammi on May 3, 2023 18:27:33 GMT
Sad to hear about the starling nest. Enjoy the sparrows when they invade your garden. I love the noise they make.
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Post by starling78 on May 3, 2023 19:06:21 GMT
Thank you Sammi and Paul all quiet here on the starling front still, I have taken the opportunity to nudge the camera in the box to the correct position so if we get another chance hopefully the pics will show a bit more! there is no unhatched eggs or chicks so they must have removed the bodies. The bluetits are still incubating, the male has been good bringing food back, I have noticed he is feeding the female alot of insects, especially all the little spiders in my window frames, he calls her out most of the time but sometimes he goes in, I did hear her scolding him at one point as if to say stop calling me to come out, bring the food in!
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Post by starling78 on Jun 2, 2023 7:58:38 GMT
Some strange goings on in my garden, unfortunately nothing has become of my bluetit box but with no camera I can't tell what the problem is, I'm thinking going by their behaviour that the eggs just haven't hatched and they have now abandoned the nest, they visit the box alot look in then fly away. When I clean the box later on in the year I will report back my findings. I have just seen something I didn't expect to see though, the male has flown to my log box and went in and looked like he was trying to entice the female in, though she flew to the hole she didn't go in, they have also been going to other boxes around my garden. I don't think anything will come of this as it is far too late but their hormones are still high enough with the failed nest making them go through the motions again. My allotment box had a successful fledge of bluetits, not sure how many but sounded like a few! The starlings are checking out my box again and it seems like others are going for a second brood so maybe I may get a nest
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