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Post by pete11 on Mar 3, 2021 11:38:07 GMT
Hello - just posting this to invite any comments from those with more experience of these things... Until the end of Jan this year I had an old Gardman box in a silver birch tree at the bottom of my garden about 3m up the trunk. I'd almost forgotten about it until at the start of 2021 I saw a pair of blue tits thoroughly checking it out, going inside, etc. This happened on at least two occasions during Jan. So I decided to upgrade Got a Green Feathers setup: a wifi camera in one of their 'deluxe chalet' boxes. I installed it in more or less the same place as the old box, but turned it slightly to face in a more north/east direction. The same evening I'd installed it I started getting motion alerts - a Great Tit poked its head in early evening on the first day. Then lots of extremely tentative head-poking-in events by a single Blue Tit in the weeks that followed, until, on 18th Feb, I checked the camera feed in the morning and lo and behold I had a proper investigation going on by a pair of Blue Tits - with one actually going into the new nest box with the other one hanging around very briefly outside on the entrance hole. This happened two or three times that same day. Next day (19th): a few more very thorough head-poking-in visits by one bird. But: since then, only the very briefest of landings on the entrance hole, and the odd head poking in, at most two times a day. In fact, visits (if you can even call them that) seem to have completely tailed off in the past few days. I see at least one pair of Blue Tits around the garden and neighbours' gardens every day, going back and forth visiting all the various feeding stations people have. So they haven't disappeared. But they seem to have completely lost interest in my nest box. I guess this is just the way it goes - reading other threads on here there doesn't seem to be much predictability to the choice of nest box for these birds. Should I abandon hope this year? I know it's still a bit early, but time's ticking on! Any thoughts welcome!
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Post by sammi on Mar 3, 2021 11:44:53 GMT
Pete Welcome aboard. Well I would say you're in with a very good chance of a nest in your box. They do check out a lot of boxes/nesting sites and it is early days. Good luck
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Post by pete11 on Mar 3, 2021 11:58:14 GMT
Thanks Sammi I admire your optimism! Just to add: my nest box has a Green Feathers LED daylight lamp in it, which switches on in the day and off at night. I wondered if this might put the birds off but I don't suppose they'd have gone inside at all if it did.
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Post by WildlifePaul on Mar 3, 2021 14:20:34 GMT
Hi Pete, No you shouldn't lose hope, Its still very early in the season and march really is the "will they won't they" month The male blue tit will cover a few gardens so he will show the female all the nest choices before she picks on and starts building, So don't lose hope if nothing is happening for you by middle of April / Late April then maybe but even then you could get a "late nester" whos been disturbed elsewhere.
You should see more activity from mid march / late march thats when normally people start getting nest building happening!
Good luck with your box and its nice to have you with us
Also the light will be fine, I use that light myself in my boxes which have been extremely successful year on year.
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Post by matt on Mar 3, 2021 14:42:21 GMT
Welcome Pete! No, it is far too early to give up hope! Nesting season hasn't even really kicked off yet for the vast majority of us, so hang in there and keep the system switched on. What you are describing is a very common pattern, where the birds seem to check out all of the options over Jan/Feb, and then sometimes seem to disappear completely for a while. Mine have done exactly the same; daily visits throughout much of Jan and Feb, including double visits, and then they stopped visiting my boxes about a week ago (the bluetits, at least), and I have only seen them around the garden. I'm hoping that they have decided on one of my boxes, and will return to being nesting soon - but of course they may have settled on somewhere else, too, that's the luck of the draw! The fact that you had visits so quickly and consistently is a pretty good sign IMO, although I'm not much of an expert because I have only had one successful nesting year so far. That year, they didn't start building until 8th April, and hadn't been seen for 3 weeks beforehand..
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Post by pete11 on Mar 3, 2021 15:08:33 GMT
Thanks for the encouragement, everyone. I certainly will be leaving everything rigged up and switched on, and fingers crossed. Who'd have thought these little birds could cause such nail-biting tension!
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Post by matt on Mar 3, 2021 15:09:25 GMT
Thanks for the encouragement, everyone. I certainly will be leaving everything rigged up and switched on, and fingers crossed. Who'd have thought these little birds could cause such nail-biting tension! You're hooked already, Pete! Next year you'll have 5 boxes up, mark my words
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Post by pete11 on Mar 3, 2021 16:15:31 GMT
Thanks for the encouragement, everyone. I certainly will be leaving everything rigged up and switched on, and fingers crossed. Who'd have thought these little birds could cause such nail-biting tension! You're hooked already, Pete! Next year you'll have 5 boxes up, mark my words Ha ha. I suspect you're not wrong. It's already proving fairly addictive. Actually I've also got a very homemade robin nestbox stuffed into some ivy on a fence with a very low quality wifi camera lashed up to it (soldering iron was involved, it's *that* homemade). I'm just thinking it'd be typical if this one got used and not the proper/expensive one!
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Post by karenupnorth on Mar 4, 2021 7:19:07 GMT
Welcome Pete, these little birds send us on a roller coaster ride every year like Matt says what you describe is quite typical and is playing out right now also in my garden, only the odd look in as if to just check all is well, this happened last year too with no visits for 10 days plus then out of the blue they started building on Easter Sunday. good luck with it all, look forward to your updates
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Post by pete11 on Mar 4, 2021 14:17:59 GMT
He/she's back at last - for another briefest of brief fleeting visit this morning just a few seconds - this is what's been happening once or twice a day most of the time since that big investigation on 18th Feb. Quick look in, then off.
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Post by Ann70 on Mar 4, 2021 14:25:24 GMT
Hi Pete forgive me I didn’t say welcome to forum and good luck with your box. Think you will find most of us are having a quiet period, but that is about right. Still very early for them to start any serious nesting, could be late March or early April or earlier to our surprise its down to will they or won’t they
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Post by matt on Mar 4, 2021 16:23:04 GMT
Yeah, all fairly normal at this stage Pete, fingers crossed they have chosen your box, and will be back! No way of knowing for a while, though.. they do keep us hanging on! My male popped into the box today (briefly), for the first time in a week, so at least he hasn't forgotten about it. Do you have any pics from your visits?
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Post by YorksherLass on Mar 4, 2021 16:34:14 GMT
Pete! As the others have said, don't give up hope as you're in with a fighting chance at least. I hope your homemade robin nest is used too as I love robins, but if you HAD to choose I know you'll forfeit robins nesting to have blue tits nesting in your camera boxes instead, quite understandable.
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Post by pete11 on Mar 4, 2021 23:05:24 GMT
matt I do have some pics but I can't seem to use that postimg site you recommend, because it keeps returning me this as soon as I've uploaded an image, just at the point I'd expect it to show me the link to copy for sharing: This site can’t provide a secure connectionpostimg.cc sent an invalid response. Any clues?
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Post by matt on Mar 4, 2021 23:34:42 GMT
I don't know Pete, but I did notice that it was down completely when I tried to upload an image earlier today, so maybe it is playing up? I just tried again and it seems fine now. Are you going to postimages.org/ ?
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Post by pete11 on Mar 5, 2021 6:53:27 GMT
matt The .org page offers you the upload facility, but once you submit the image it redirects to a .cc page (which is probably supposed to show the sharing link). That error message is something to do with SSL certificates on the site not being given the all clear by my laptop's antivirus software... I think! I'll try it on my phone instead later today and see what happens.
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Post by pete11 on Mar 5, 2021 9:54:01 GMT
Ok postimages on my phone gives me back the sharing links. So, here's a pic of my first double visit from 18th Feb. No idea which bird is male/female. Perhaps someone can tell me? Hard to see as the box is so tall so that bird inside seems a long way off!
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Post by matt on Mar 5, 2021 11:03:40 GMT
Nice pic Pete! Hard to say from that pic which is the male/female. The male will typically check out the box first, and then try to call the female in from inside the box. Eventually she will go in (hopefully!), at which point the male will quickly leave, and hang around outside. I'd guess it is probably the male inside in your pic, but it depends on what played out just before.
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Post by petesbox on Mar 5, 2021 13:00:16 GMT
Nice clear pic Pete, and welcome.
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Post by pete11 on Mar 5, 2021 14:14:39 GMT
Apart from 18th Feb, all the 'visits' I've logged look like that same pic minus the bird inside! - i.e. just a head quickly looking in thru the entrance hole and then disappearing.
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Post by YorksherLass on Mar 5, 2021 15:24:54 GMT
That's a shame Pete, but sod's law I suppose! Never mind, you do have that lovely piccie above at least & it's nice, clear & colourful.
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Post by karenupnorth on Mar 5, 2021 21:30:21 GMT
I like to think that they have probably chosen the box and are now just biding their time till conditions are right, where abouts are you located Pete?
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Post by pete11 on Mar 5, 2021 21:46:21 GMT
Well I guess only time will tell. Rest assured you'll soon know about it if they do decide to be sensible and choose to nest here! I'm in South West London - suburban street with fairly large gardens. I'm pretty sure I've seen more than one pair of Blue Tits doing the rounds from time to time, but usually it just seems to be one pair. They seem to go up and down the gardens back and forth most days. No idea how far they go on any given day. I've read somewhere that there's evidence to suggest Blue Tits often don't end up living far from where they've fledged.
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Post by matt on Mar 5, 2021 22:24:32 GMT
Fingers crossed, Pete. It is always a stressful time - what they don't tell you when they are selling those camera boxes is that getting a nest is far from certain! The big issue I think with bluetits is that they are very territorial, and that territory might easily cover quite a few gardens in London. Given how many people have nest boxes these days, there is a chance they have a few other options nearby, so sometimes it is just luck of the draw. You've had visits, including a double visit, so that is quite encouraging. Paul on this forum usually gets multiple bluetit nests, but as far as I know he is the only one. Even then, I think it is multiple females and one male.
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Post by karenupnorth on Mar 6, 2021 10:55:26 GMT
I can see from my BTs their territory encompasses quite a large area and like you I very rarely see another pair, but they do seem to hang around my garden and another close by more frequently, the way you describe them going up and down the gardens reminds me of ours, there is a long row of Rowan trees spaced out every 15ft or so that goes all the way down the length of the street and they fly from one to another up and down, my box is situated in the Rowan tree at the back of our house and it was chosen last year, the first year it had interest but no takers, this year is looking promising but I know things can change very quickly. With you being down South they should start nesting a lot sooner than we get here in North Yorks. It is usually early April before nest building starts. Really hope you get to see a nest it is a stressful but also magical
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