Post by benn on May 2, 2022 13:31:44 GMT
After an hour or so interrogating the DVR history from last week it has become clear that our initial suspicions of this morning were sadly proved to be correct 
On the morning of Wednesday 27th April at around 5:54am Lady Blue tit 1 leaves the box for the last time. This is the first video below. I can identify her by her eye strip on the left side of her face as there is a small downward black mark extending down.
She did not return that day and there were no visits to the box. The nest remained empty all Wednesday night/ Thursday morning until 14:03pm in the afternoon. Then at that time the second video clip below shows the male enticing a different female Lady Blue Tit 2 into the box. Comparing the two clips one can see they are different birds.
Since Thursday there has been a lot of activity during the day with the new female bringing in more fur and feathers and some straw. She roosts on top of the nest. It might be a week or so before this new female starts to lay eggs. We suspect the first eggs will remain buried deeper down but who knows?
My wife says she saw the Sparrowhawk fly to the feeder last week so our guess is Lady Blue Tit 1 ended up as Breakfast that fateful morning!
On a brighter note our Lady Great Tit has been incubating her 9 eggs since last Tuesday and the third clip is her hubby bring her an afternoon treat
On the morning of Wednesday 27th April at around 5:54am Lady Blue tit 1 leaves the box for the last time. This is the first video below. I can identify her by her eye strip on the left side of her face as there is a small downward black mark extending down.
She did not return that day and there were no visits to the box. The nest remained empty all Wednesday night/ Thursday morning until 14:03pm in the afternoon. Then at that time the second video clip below shows the male enticing a different female Lady Blue Tit 2 into the box. Comparing the two clips one can see they are different birds.
Since Thursday there has been a lot of activity during the day with the new female bringing in more fur and feathers and some straw. She roosts on top of the nest. It might be a week or so before this new female starts to lay eggs. We suspect the first eggs will remain buried deeper down but who knows?
My wife says she saw the Sparrowhawk fly to the feeder last week so our guess is Lady Blue Tit 1 ended up as Breakfast that fateful morning!
On a brighter note our Lady Great Tit has been incubating her 9 eggs since last Tuesday and the third clip is her hubby bring her an afternoon treat
