Post by hfriel on Apr 15, 2020 19:07:17 GMT
Hi All 
Another year another nest
Had given up hope of a nest this year, firstly we had a very bad rat problem earlier in the year, we could see them around the birds feeders....horrible (No fatballs, just black sunflower seeds!!) The council came out and put down loads of poison everywhere and warned us about birdseed. So all feeders had to be taken away
We decided to get a kitten to help with the problem as we always had cats. The cat (now almost 9 months old and big) loves to sleep under the nestbox!!
We’d had a pair of Bluetits visiting everyday since Xmas Eve, She even brought in the odd bit of nesting material in February, then when the food disappeared they only visited the odd time (if it was the same pair
) and then yesterday they visited a few times in the morning, she did 2 nesting wiggles and then at about 6pm she brought in one piece of straw.
8.30 this morning she started bringing in moss and never stopped all day. I have a confession to make, I gathered up a load of moss and put it in a hanging basket to stop her going down on the grass as the Cat is just waiting around corners all the time. Now I have a Grey Tit, Coal tit and my Blue tit all helping themselves to the moss
. The nest looks nearly finished, that is except for the feathered cushions.
This is almost identical to last year and same date, give or take a day or two, which is much later than my previous nests, so not sure why but given the speed of todays building, it could be a pair that were disturbed from another nest site or maybe it took that long to find enough food to fatten themselves up as all my neighbours took in their bird feeders too because of the rat problem.
So don’t give up hope yet everybody!!
Another year another nest
Had given up hope of a nest this year, firstly we had a very bad rat problem earlier in the year, we could see them around the birds feeders....horrible (No fatballs, just black sunflower seeds!!) The council came out and put down loads of poison everywhere and warned us about birdseed. So all feeders had to be taken away
We decided to get a kitten to help with the problem as we always had cats. The cat (now almost 9 months old and big) loves to sleep under the nestbox!!We’d had a pair of Bluetits visiting everyday since Xmas Eve, She even brought in the odd bit of nesting material in February, then when the food disappeared they only visited the odd time (if it was the same pair
) and then yesterday they visited a few times in the morning, she did 2 nesting wiggles and then at about 6pm she brought in one piece of straw. 8.30 this morning she started bringing in moss and never stopped all day. I have a confession to make, I gathered up a load of moss and put it in a hanging basket to stop her going down on the grass as the Cat is just waiting around corners all the time. Now I have a Grey Tit, Coal tit and my Blue tit all helping themselves to the moss
. The nest looks nearly finished, that is except for the feathered cushions.This is almost identical to last year and same date, give or take a day or two, which is much later than my previous nests, so not sure why but given the speed of todays building, it could be a pair that were disturbed from another nest site or maybe it took that long to find enough food to fatten themselves up as all my neighbours took in their bird feeders too because of the rat problem.
So don’t give up hope yet everybody!!