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Post by suep on Apr 25, 2021 15:40:03 GMT
Brilliant shot Karen, she is making sure everything is right. Sue
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Post by karenupnorth on Apr 26, 2021 6:20:59 GMT
Nest building continues , but it is clear Hastings has another female, she is often hanging around feeding with Hastings and has had the odd spat with Kate, not sure how things will pan out with these two females, she must have a nest of her own or will be building soon also, I just hope there isnt an almighty scrap and it all goes pear shaped
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Post by WildlifePaul on Apr 26, 2021 8:03:31 GMT
The females don't tend to bother eachother if they have different nests Karen, I have had 2 female blue tits nesting on the same house wall in 2016 around 15 foot away and they didn't once bother eachother, I think its more if your second female doesn't have a nest site and she wants to overtake so fingers crossed shes already built somewhere!
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Post by karenupnorth on Apr 26, 2021 8:30:15 GMT
Im not sure what this female is doing whether she has a nest or not Paul. At the moment though Hastings is going into the nest and removing bits of material!! Kate must be having a break she will not be best pleased. This other female has been into the box once from what I have seen but didnt show too much interest, Hastings has loads more boxes to take her too, I dont no these birds are so confusing! Hastings has been paired with Kate since January so I hope he stays true to her to some degree.
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Post by WildlifePaul on Apr 26, 2021 8:38:16 GMT
If kate is his first female she will be the one that gets the help when it comes to feeding the babies etc
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Post by suep on Apr 26, 2021 9:33:22 GMT
So frustrating Karen, wish we knew what these birds were thinking/doing Sue
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Post by karenupnorth on Apr 27, 2021 7:19:32 GMT
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Post by karenupnorth on Apr 27, 2021 10:52:18 GMT
Just taken delivery of a pack of waxworms hopefully Kate and Hastings soon find them
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Post by WildlifePaul on Apr 27, 2021 17:08:45 GMT
Never had a blue tit bring bark in before Karen
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Post by karenupnorth on Apr 27, 2021 17:16:29 GMT
It looks like silver birch tree bark, yes I thought it seemed unusual too, Hastings isnt keen for sure, is it normal for males to chuck material out?
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Post by karenupnorth on Apr 28, 2021 8:49:44 GMT
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Post by karenupnorth on Apr 28, 2021 8:52:23 GMT
Paul any idea what is going on, Hastings keeps removing bark from the nest, he has this 2nd female hanging around, luckily all this has gone on when Kate has been away on a break, or I feel there will be a scrap!
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Post by suep on Apr 28, 2021 9:11:28 GMT
Wonder if this female is a youngster Karen as bark is very unusual. Maybe Hastings is trying to show her that bark won’t be good material for fragile eggs - he is obviously more experienced. So hope things work out Karen. Sue
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Post by matt on Apr 28, 2021 9:18:37 GMT
Fingers crossed they don't cross paths, Karen.
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Post by karenupnorth on Apr 28, 2021 9:19:41 GMT
Thanks sue, I guess this must be her first nest, bless her I'm just worried in case he is perhaps trying to get the other female to take over
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Post by karenupnorth on Apr 29, 2021 8:08:20 GMT
So Kate continues to build her nest, she wakes at around 5.30 and begins straight away, she brings stacks of this paper thin bark in and continues this till around 7am, then she usually disappears for hours, during which time Hastings and second female hang around in the tree feeding etc and at some point he will do the bark removal thing and sometimes the female enters and looks around, Hastings crouches for her when she enters much like at the beginning of the season, Kate somehow has not caught them yet, I think WW3 will start if she does. No clue if she has her own nest somewhere, but from what I see she is with Hastings more than Kate. One positive thing is I have seen him feed Kate on the odd occasion so there is hope.
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Post by Taz on Apr 29, 2021 9:26:05 GMT
It's not over until the fat bird sings, I'm routing for Kate 🤞
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Post by karenupnorth on Apr 29, 2021 9:45:01 GMT
Cheers Taz, I have a soft spot for Kate, she has been roosting with us in her box since October and have grown fond of her and Hastings, they have been paired since early January.
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Post by Taz on Apr 29, 2021 10:59:34 GMT
Cheers Taz, I have a soft spot for Kate, she has been roosting with us in her box since October and have grown fond of her and Hastings, they have been paired since early January. I feel pain, so many of my previous years have started promising and not come to anything. This year I nearly didn't even put a box up. Kate will come good 🤞🤞
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Post by karenupnorth on Apr 29, 2021 11:27:19 GMT
So a quick up date from this morning... Hastings and the new female still hanging around the tree, she has now began showing more interest in the tree box in terms of nest wriggling and visits, Kate still awol which isnt unusual after her nest building early morning, but I feel things are going to turn bad when Kate gets back I will put a video up of their antics.
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Post by karenupnorth on Apr 29, 2021 11:31:06 GMT
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Post by Ann70 on Apr 29, 2021 11:40:42 GMT
Hope it all settles and Kate will be the one to claim her box, hope it doesn’t end in a clash with two females It’s been a very different late season for some and the weather doesn’t help ( always the cold wind )
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Post by karenupnorth on Apr 30, 2021 6:46:03 GMT
UPDATE from North Yorks; I had to go to work at 3pm so left camera running, when I left the new female appeared to be claiming the box, she was nest wriggling and pecking around and spent quite some time in there, so I was fearful of a confrontation when Kate came back, however thankfully it didnt happen, at least in the nest box, Kate came back at 6pm, she had a two hour session of nest building then settled down to roost with no drama, PHEW! This morning she started as usual with a good hour and half of building and now she has gone off, where to I have no clue! Hastings is in the tree with the new women so will see what today brings. On a side note Hastings is quite bold when I fill up the live food feeder, he gets quite close to say I just started with it a few days ago, may have him hand feeding before too long! EDIT; New female is back in the box as I write removing bark,
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Post by matt on Apr 30, 2021 7:38:21 GMT
Curious goings on, Karen. Surely the females must be aware of each other, so I wonder they are playing at? Hopefully it is an amicable arrangement, whatever it is.
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Post by karenupnorth on Apr 30, 2021 7:46:42 GMT
They have had the odd spat Matt up in the tree, but no fights in the nest box so far. Will see how it goes today.
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