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Post by Ann70 on May 8, 2021 15:30:06 GMT
Hi Matt Hubby has been to get materials for my bird feeder box so maybe tomorrow he will start to put it together
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Post by matt on May 8, 2021 16:53:32 GMT
Good luck with it Ann! The bluetits seem really comfortable with the feeder now, and often enter through the hole in the wooden side, but always seem to leave through the front! Yesterday I saw a starling try to get in, but it couldn't do it. A sparrow did get in, but that doesn't bother me to much. So a success, I'd say!
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Post by Ann70 on May 8, 2021 17:19:48 GMT
Sounds good Matt, hopefully it will be a success for me I would like it to be for robins blue tits great tit
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Post by Ann70 on May 10, 2021 10:52:30 GMT
Hi Matt I’ve just been watching the live stream she looks cosy tucked up on the nest.how many eggs do you think she has and when do you estimate them hatching
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Post by matt on May 10, 2021 12:23:45 GMT
Quite a lot of guesswork here, Ann, because I have not seen more than 3 eggs at one time, but I think 6-8 eggs, judging just by the first day her behaviour changed in the morning, and the day she started incubating. Could be more, could be less.. Best guess on hatching (13-15 days?) would be some time after 20th May!
How is your feeder coming along? They are absolutely loving mine now - I think it is more or less the only place she is feeding when she leaves the nest. I know if I see her leave on the video that she will be inside the mealworm feeder within a few seconds!
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Post by Ann70 on May 10, 2021 12:28:09 GMT
Not to long to wait for hatching day We had a very busy day sorting out are storage in the garden so it didn’t get done but hopefully it will be started very soon Glad yours is working well
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Post by WildlifePaul on May 10, 2021 21:06:21 GMT
Cant even express how pleased I am for you Matt, I guess this means you aren't banned from having your boxes next year?
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Post by Ann70 on May 14, 2021 15:08:42 GMT
Hi Matt Looks really cosy in the nest for her on this awful damp weather Not long to wait for the hatching, then it will be all eyes from the rest of the family, the children won’t want to leave for school 🤭
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Post by karenupnorth on May 16, 2021 8:23:50 GMT
Not long now Matt, is it the 20th the 13th day? Is the male still around?
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Post by matt on May 16, 2021 8:50:44 GMT
I reckon she sat for a full day on the 7th, so I've got 19th down as 13th day, and 18th down as "you never know, better watch closely"! But anytime between Tuesday and Friday I guess, with Wed/Thur being the most likely. I'm getting a bit of an issue with the live stream going down most nights, so I will need to be up early to fix it an make sure I don't miss anything! Tony is around, but seems to spend most of his time with another female, who is also taking advantage of the mealworms. He does pop into the box very occasionally though - it will be interesting to see if he steps up after hatching.
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Post by karenupnorth on May 16, 2021 9:01:36 GMT
Frustrating it goes down on a night, wonder what the cause could be. I will be watching on the 18th with anticipation Kate chicks are due from the 24th. I hope Tony sorts himself out and helps her, they do have a complicated love life these BTs.
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Post by matt on May 16, 2021 9:13:16 GMT
They sure do Karen! I think it is internet related - it just went down again, but I noticed that I also lost internet access at the same time. The problem with Youtube streams is that if you stop sending the data for a few minutes, the stream ends and you need to manually start it again - frustrating, because it means I am not recording video after it goes down, so if something happens I will miss it. Also if I am out of the house, I can't fix it up until I get home.. Anyway, I should be around this week most of the time. I can't remember now, but is there a more or less likely time of day for hatching or can it happen any time?
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Post by karenupnorth on May 16, 2021 9:28:56 GMT
I dont think there is Matt, literally anytime day or night from what I have seen.
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Post by matt on May 16, 2021 9:43:46 GMT
THanks karen - hopefully it won't be at night, anyway, since I don't have infrared on this setup! Not that I'm counting my bluetits before they hatch, but I've just ordered a big (500g) sack of mini mealworms! Hopefully that should keep her going (and the other bluetit nest somewhere behind my garden - that female is just as regular to the mealworm feeder as ours!).
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Post by karenupnorth on May 16, 2021 10:26:17 GMT
Great stuff that will keep them happy for sure, they seem to prefer the waxworms here if given a choice but will take the mealworms if nothing else is on offer. I will get a sack too and a couple of tubs of waxworms.
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Post by matt on May 16, 2021 10:52:51 GMT
Waxworms a bit outside my pay scale at the moment Karen! Well, they seem to be if they eat anything like as many of them as they do the mealies. I've seen her take 10 in a row before, and that's before she even starts to feed her chicks!
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Post by karenupnorth on May 16, 2021 11:00:43 GMT
Yeah I know what you mean! I pay £8 for 250, but I make them last!
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Post by matt on May 17, 2021 8:47:43 GMT
OK, small correction - having read back on this thread, she actually started incubating on the 6th, which makes today day 12 and tomorrow day 13! So I'm watching closely, and a good chance it could start happenning tomorrow I suppose?
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Post by karenupnorth on May 17, 2021 8:52:22 GMT
Wow excited to see these little pink chickies
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Post by matt on May 17, 2021 8:57:06 GMT
This is about a good a view as I have had of the eggs. I reckon maybe 7-8? Can't see them all, but just judging by the layout of the eggs around a central one? Or am I clutching at straws!
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Post by Ann70 on May 17, 2021 8:59:33 GMT
Morn Matt I think I can make out 6/7 eggs
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Post by matt on May 17, 2021 9:02:12 GMT
Same here Ann, but then the "gaps" where you can't clearly see an egg, I assume might actually have an egg? In which case it could be 8 (or even 9, but I don't think that would fit with the amount of days she spent laying)?
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Post by Ann70 on May 17, 2021 9:06:49 GMT
Hopefully it won’t be to look before they hatch. Well my hubby has made the feeder box yesterday, I’ve no clue whether it will be used, time will tell.I will try to put a picture on later My feeder is needing topping up with suet pellets every day I think both blue tit and great tits have their young in the trees feeding them judging by the different directions they are going in Also the robins have for sometime now
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Post by karenupnorth on May 17, 2021 9:12:35 GMT
Im really not sure tbh Matt, but if she laid her first one on the 1st and started incubating on the 6th, I would reckon 6, but these birds are so cloak and dagger so maybe a 7th somewhere.
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Post by matt on May 17, 2021 9:17:58 GMT
I am working on the basis that they often (usually?) lay one more on the morning after they start incubating, which would be 7. But since I don't really know for sure when she started laying, that could be wrong plus or minus one or two either way! It will be quite exciting to see, but if I had to put a small wager on it I would go with 7
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