Greatbluehopefuls nest box 2019 & 2020 - Kildare,Ireland
Mar 9, 2020 7:57:13 GMT
karenupnorth likes this
Post by greatbluehopeful on Mar 9, 2020 7:57:13 GMT
Hi Folks,
Just popping in to say hello....and give a bit of an update.
So, its been a busy few weeks, so much going on in the long box to the side of my house. Plenty of visits and activity...its been such a thrill to watch.
Not so much activity in the front sideways box, just fleeting head pokes, but I do notice interest is picking up marginally there in the past week, with a great tit looking in, and also with a starling who wishes he was a bit smaller and tries and tries to squeeze in....top marks for persistence there!!!
The bad bit:
On one of the nights some week ago there was so much interest in the long box that there was two birds trying to roost there...this was brewing over a few nights, and Maurice managed to fend the other bird off each time, but unfortunately one night it led to a very brutal fatal fight....really difficult to watch.
Could not believe that these little birds could be so vicious. I cannot tell if it was Maurice attacking or being attacked....The fight went on about 30mins - they actually seemed to have gone to sleep midway, holding onto each other for a full 20 mins, neither giving up, but panting in exhaustion. Finally it ended with one managing to get away and the other staying. The box was full of feathers.
So, one ended up winning and roosting the night and the other was found dead under the box the next day. Must have died from wounds inflicted.
After the fight, there was no daily clean up activity like before, and I now suspect that it was the female that was actually killed and not Maurice.
As Maurice was back roosting again, with no cleaner, the box was beginning to get dirty again, and with the feathers still there it was an awful sight.
The good bit:
About 2 weeks later, I noticed activity had resumed with cleaning out the box, and all the fight feathers had finally been removed, with some serious floor cleaning taking place. Then on Friday 6th March, the first real amount of nesting material was brought in. Small bits of fluffy moss, and a little bit more brought in each day since. This female is intent on cleaning scrupulously and spends long sessions pecking at the floor removing all the last of the roosting residue.
Then another change happened last night...."Maurice" returned to the box quite late - about 6:35pm, stayed a short while at the entrance looking all around him, then, he appeared to allow another bird to land on the entrance....and then he left. Didn't return?
The other bird, must be female as she was so much smaller and fatter than Maurice, stayed for a minute but flew off too...and didn't actually roost.
So, last night, for the first time since 25th October, I had no rooster in the box. I'm quite sad about this, and missed him, but hoping that its just Maurice paving the way for the female to be encouraged to start building more seriously.
Do the wintering roosters just leave the box like that? I imagine that they don't stay in there all year?
Just popping in to say hello....and give a bit of an update.
So, its been a busy few weeks, so much going on in the long box to the side of my house. Plenty of visits and activity...its been such a thrill to watch.
Not so much activity in the front sideways box, just fleeting head pokes, but I do notice interest is picking up marginally there in the past week, with a great tit looking in, and also with a starling who wishes he was a bit smaller and tries and tries to squeeze in....top marks for persistence there!!!
The bad bit:
On one of the nights some week ago there was so much interest in the long box that there was two birds trying to roost there...this was brewing over a few nights, and Maurice managed to fend the other bird off each time, but unfortunately one night it led to a very brutal fatal fight....really difficult to watch.
Could not believe that these little birds could be so vicious. I cannot tell if it was Maurice attacking or being attacked....The fight went on about 30mins - they actually seemed to have gone to sleep midway, holding onto each other for a full 20 mins, neither giving up, but panting in exhaustion. Finally it ended with one managing to get away and the other staying. The box was full of feathers.
So, one ended up winning and roosting the night and the other was found dead under the box the next day. Must have died from wounds inflicted.
After the fight, there was no daily clean up activity like before, and I now suspect that it was the female that was actually killed and not Maurice.
As Maurice was back roosting again, with no cleaner, the box was beginning to get dirty again, and with the feathers still there it was an awful sight.
The good bit:
About 2 weeks later, I noticed activity had resumed with cleaning out the box, and all the fight feathers had finally been removed, with some serious floor cleaning taking place. Then on Friday 6th March, the first real amount of nesting material was brought in. Small bits of fluffy moss, and a little bit more brought in each day since. This female is intent on cleaning scrupulously and spends long sessions pecking at the floor removing all the last of the roosting residue.
Then another change happened last night...."Maurice" returned to the box quite late - about 6:35pm, stayed a short while at the entrance looking all around him, then, he appeared to allow another bird to land on the entrance....and then he left. Didn't return?
The other bird, must be female as she was so much smaller and fatter than Maurice, stayed for a minute but flew off too...and didn't actually roost.
So, last night, for the first time since 25th October, I had no rooster in the box. I'm quite sad about this, and missed him, but hoping that its just Maurice paving the way for the female to be encouraged to start building more seriously.
Do the wintering roosters just leave the box like that? I imagine that they don't stay in there all year?