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Post by WildlifePaul on Apr 9, 2020 20:37:16 GMT
I hope she comes back GBH Would be such awful luck for you after 8 years of waiting if this was the end
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Post by greatbluehopeful on Apr 10, 2020 7:30:24 GMT
Yes, it would be just my luck alright...
Tiny 10 sec's of excitement just there when a new pair of Blue Tits tentatively checked out Beaktrix box....they were very cautious and didn't go in, but "any port in the fog" as 'they' say...I'll hold out for a bit of hope again.
No sign of her at all though. I fear she has gone elsewhere.
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Post by sammi on Apr 10, 2020 8:47:05 GMT
I hope things sort themselves out for you GBH. ❤
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Post by greatbluehopeful on Apr 10, 2020 9:13:35 GMT
Well, while the weather seems cooler today, there seems to be more interest in the birdboxes. I've just spent 10 mins watching three species in succession check out the old Aldi box at the shed...
First a pair of Great Tits. The male spent a long time poking its head in, inciting his lady to look...she sat in the branch and wouldn't entertain him, so they left.
Next came the Blue Tits who were in and out like Jack in the boxes for about 5 mins....checking all around the roof, at the back, trying out the branches in the bush beside...very busy. Then they left.
Lastly a Starling, who was probably wondering what all the fuss was about. He didn't stay long for obvious reasons.
So, while my Beaktrix box is at a stand still, and both it and the side view box are getting a large number of visits from prospecting wasps, there is still life going on out there.
I will hold out hope for another 10 days or so and in the meantime perhaps Beaktrix will come back...who knows? Maybe it was the unusally hot weather holding things up.
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Post by Ann70 on Apr 10, 2020 10:13:02 GMT
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Post by WildlifePaul on Apr 10, 2020 14:24:30 GMT
Still no signs of your nest building female GBH?
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Post by greatbluehopeful on Apr 11, 2020 9:35:24 GMT
No....all deathly silent. No rooster last night - I think my goose is cooked for this year.
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Post by greatbluehopeful on Apr 11, 2020 11:25:52 GMT
So in the absence of any activity whatsoever in my bird boxes, (apart from a brief visit to the Aldi box this morning from a pair of Coal tits) I am now just enjoying watching the birds take the nesting material I have left out for them.
There is one Coal Tits nests and two Blue Tit nests very nearby of that I'm now sure of, having seen the material been taken by each bird in succession. They are very spoiled to be lining their nests with some Bichon Frise fur that I found the other day.
I've been promised a bag of lambs wool from a neighbour too. So I can keep their supply going.
Here is some footage of a Blue tit taking the Bichon Frise fur:
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Post by WildlifePaul on Apr 11, 2020 11:27:19 GMT
GBH, Do you think she maybe been killed rather than spooky scaring her away?
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Post by greatbluehopeful on Apr 11, 2020 11:42:21 GMT
GBH, Do you think she maybe been killed rather than spooky scaring her away? Initially I thought that yes, she was dead, but then there is the fact that she did return to roost on night on Monday after she was frighted by the noise. There was Tuesday where there was no activity at all, and she didn't return that night...so there was a gap of one day that there was no activity at all, and then the cat was up on the roof on the Wednesday....so in actual fact, perhaps Spooky is not to blame here. But maybe the combination of both these events, the fright and then the cat being more present in the garden made her decide to just give up on the site. - its just too unsual for her not to return at all...so either she went elsewhere, or she has been predated by Spooky or another predator. Either way - my birdbox has been abandoned quite completely. Spooky has my heart broken. Yesterday evening, while we were all there in the garden, she was standing beside us. She has a bell on her collar so when she wandered off briefly, we could hear her tinkling in behind the shed, and in two seconds she managed to catch a wren!!! A WREN, would you believe it. But we managed to get it off of her, and the Wren flew away. But I do know that the effect of the scratch from a cats claws can cause death to small animals at a later stage...I'm just so upset and fed up today. I was tossing and turning all night. I simply cannot believe that this has happened to us - I must be the unluckiest person on the planet....to think that we had a cat free home, with no intention of ever getting a cat...and that a cat would come to us and push her way in. She has caused so much havoc, and has managed to ruin the beautiful balance of nature we had going in our new garden. I'm so cut up and conflicted over it all.....I wish I was more of a tougher person. She would be kicked to the curb, but of course, my stupid soft heart can't do that either. I am so annoyed with myself and terribly, terribly upset right now. Sorry to vent, but I'm close to tears about it all. Hope you understand...
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Post by WildlifePaul on Apr 11, 2020 12:05:33 GMT
Hmmm, Maybe she was killed by a bird of prey or something? This happened to one of my BT's in 2018, Fully built nest laid 1 egg then suddenly disappeared. I could only put it down to being killed sadly, Luckily I had another BT nest so I didn't miss out but these things do happen. These little birds are so vulnerable while collecting material if something is watching them!
I don't think the cat going close to the box would be enough to totally put her off, I am saying this because my cats go so close to my tree box every year and its never put the birds off even when seeing it happen. During the early stages of building I just let things go on as normal in the garden really, If the birds think its unsafe to nest I let them find out early into building so its easy for them to move on. Then if it doesn't put them off and we get into more serious building I start letting cats out during evening instead, I mainly do this around feeding chicks stage.
I think the only time the bird will truly be put off is if the cat is on the box trying to get into the hole and the bird witness this, If its just nearby I wouldn't say that is enough to stop the bird in her tracks. I am just going by my experience with my cats and birds, Maybe your birds was more sensitive I don't know, But I think there could be more than meets the eye with her disappearance especially if she wasn't seen all day Tuesday but Spooky didn't get up on the roof until Wednesday.
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Post by Amanda on Apr 11, 2020 13:32:18 GMT
Awww, I’m so sorry to hear of all your turmoil. We invest so much emotional time in theses little birds and so want the best for them, more now than ever with all the awful things that are happening in the world. Don’t beat yourself up, you should feel immensely proud of yourself because you took the time to provide lovely homes, not only for the feathered variety, but the fluffy ones too! I have lots of other people’s cats in my garden, it doesn’t seem to bother the birds off, so I’m sure Spooky hasn’t done anything. I hope your bird returns soon and cheers you up again
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Post by suep on Apr 11, 2020 16:16:03 GMT
I do sympathise with you GBH. I get myself very upset about these little creatures and know how you must be feeling about Spooky, but I guess he is just doing as he would if you hadn’t given him a home. He doesn’t understand that we feel it’s wrong, to him it’s in his genes to chase and catch birds. I’m afraid that is why I could never now have a cat. You are a Great Big Softie and hopefully when nesting season is over you will enjoy having Spooky around. Big hugs . Sue
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2020 16:28:14 GMT
Feeling for you GBH!
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Post by sammi on Apr 11, 2020 22:37:02 GMT
GBH such an awful thing to witness. We have neighbous'cats in the garden all the time but rarely see one catch a bird. Our blackbirds usually send up the warning. Hope you can feel better soon.🤗
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Post by greatbluehopeful on Apr 12, 2020 6:26:04 GMT
Thanks all.... had a bit of a wobbler there, huh!!!
Everything you've all said is true. Thank you all...voices of reason. I do feel better.
Spooky is a turning into a really lovely, gentle cat actually.
Every day we work on her, she's visibly becoming calmer and more comfortable with us. As she feels safer with us, her untrusting 'feral' reactions which were forced upon her after her abandonment are becoming less frequent. Another few weeks she be completely socialised again.
I'm just at odds with her "nature". I never understand why if they are well fed, happy and content, that they still have the urge to kill.
It is such a contradiction.
I'm gutted about the empty birdbox...needed something to blame I suppose!
Can't believe another year is about to pass me by again.
I'm getting huge interest in the sideview box from a wasp. It's been in about 29 times yesterday. Don't want it to take the box. Any tips there?
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Post by greatbluehopeful on Apr 12, 2020 11:45:24 GMT
Hi all....well, its cooler and drizzly here today, so I got back to work on my House Martin boxes...plenty of mud around!! So here is the two finished 'nest bowls' which if you remember were originally designed for Swallows in mind, so the bowl unfortunately, is a bit shallower than they should be for House Martins. They were drying for 10 days and the mud was absolutely rock solid. It would take alot to break them: Then, in order to attach them to the wood, I got some plasterers tape and put it across them to secure each bowl to the wood as you can see here. I added another few lengths up and across then and secured with screws and washers, to form a 'grip' for the next layer of mud. Next came another coating of mud....great craic! Like I said, as these bowl were possibly too shallow, in order to make them more suitable for the House Martins I put them at an angle so that the bowls would be deeper. And then I built up the sides to create the start of a semi-circular entrance hole with a really thick, dryer mud mixture: I know the entrance holes are too big at the moment, but I'm not going to add any more mud now, as the structure at the entrance would become weak...I'll let the House Martins complete the entrance holes to their liking if I happen to get lucky enough to attract any? I was thinking too, as they are now, with the larger entrance holes, a robin or a wren would really love these little nest boxes too...they are ideal for their type of nest. It will take another week or two for these to dry out completely rock solid again, and then I'll stick them up. So that's another job done. Not bad for a homemade job! ------------ In other news , no sign of any activity in any of my nest boxes, other than that bloody wasp who has obviously decided to stay in the side view box and set up camp.
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Post by WildlifePaul on Apr 12, 2020 12:54:00 GMT
Looks like you've done a great job with them GBH!
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Post by Amanda on Apr 13, 2020 6:58:17 GMT
They look brilliant, what a great idea 👍
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Post by Taz on Apr 13, 2020 9:29:31 GMT
Loving the House Martin nests, well done
Taz
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Post by elle on Apr 14, 2020 11:44:22 GMT
Brilliant job there GBH yahoo_clap I hope you get some success with those after all your recent events Elle xx
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Post by Beechnut on Apr 14, 2020 15:10:29 GMT
Be keeping an eye out for any developments regarding those then GBH. Well done.
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Post by greatbluehopeful on Apr 15, 2020 8:56:10 GMT
Hi all,
Well - one week to the day since the "CatGate" scandal. My birdboxes are still silent like a graveyard, one half nest, unfinished, and two empty boxes.
Not one visit to the boxes - that alone is highly unusual. I can only presume that having Spooky in the garden has deterred any further interest.
I was having an issue with a Queen wasp who was showing a real interest in the sideview box...repeated visits, in and out for the past four days....so I looked it up, and it seems likely she has chosen this box for her nest, which she will need to build quickly and colonise. I was worried she had already started her nest, so I needed to act quickly.
As there is still a shred of hope for a birds nest, I didn't want to cover up the entrance hole, so, one trick is to rub a bar of soap on the inside of the roof of the box - the 'paper' structure of the nest cannot adhere to the soap. So, as a start this is what I have done.
It is harmless to the wasp, who will give up and just go elsewhere... and also harmless to any potential late nesting birds, who won't care unless they don't like the smell of 'Dove'...
Failing that, I've heard lining the roof with tinfoil or a shiny material will also deter wasp nests...same principal - the nest won't adhere to the shiny surface. In another month, I will cover the hole though.
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Post by WildlifePaul on Apr 15, 2020 10:06:51 GMT
Hopefully this gives you a little bit of hope GBH, Because I don't believe spooky was enough to fully scare it with the behaviour you've said of. But in 2015, It was my first year with a camera box, I had boxes in the garden but never a camera box. Long story short my garden wasn't what it was now, I barely had birds, I couldn't even get a nest however in 2014 we got a nest in one of our boxes. I was really happy it was the first sign that a few years of building the garden up worked, Window cleaner done the windows and the blue tit went crazy (he was lend over the box to clean the window) she didn't come back, I was gutted.
Autumn 2014, I bought 3 new boxes from CJ Wildlife all like my current sparrow box, Rigged them with cheap black and white cameras. 2015 we get nest building by the blue tits, I couldn't stop watching glued to my telly! Then she was frightened nest half built I thought ffs 2014 all over again. time was pasting we was in the middle of April, 12 days later she was back after no visits before hand nothing at all, She build the nest fully within a day (was half built like yours) and laid her first egg the next day, I believe this happened due to her other site being disturbed or could of been the case she come back to the box she originally wanted.
Sorry for the big reply, Just wanted to give you a little hope for the next week or 2! I think people think its been plain sailing for me and I get nests every year and always have, Really not the case, I spent years getting it to the place I am at now with my birds and it is so rewarding to me, So I know people's struggles on here because I've been through them myself. 2016 was when it really turned around in my garden and I went from 1 BT nest in 2015 to 3 BT's and a sparrow nest. So year by year you never know what is going to happen, She could come back, I am not saying she will but that is what happened to me in 2015, So I hope it gives you a little hope going forward.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2020 10:54:26 GMT
In January I discovered a small wasps nest the size and shape of a large lemon in our sideview box. It was abandoned by then. I wondered why we were being bugged by so many of the buggers when sitting out back last July/August!! By then I it had turned out that we had drawn a blank that season so the cameras had been switched off. Good tip re the soap GBH!
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