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Post by pete11 on May 14, 2021 10:58:43 GMT
Hello again - I'd all but given up on my box this year, when suddenly this week a Great Tit has made lots of fairly prolonged visits (a couple lasting well over 10mins). I'm assuming it's a male, as he seems to be chirruping and quietly twittering away to what I believe must be his mate outside the box.
Here's a video from 11th May when it all started kicking off.
I'm not holding my breath just yet - especially since there have been no visits today (Friday). Surprisingly (to me, at least) I've also seen fledgling Great Tits being fed by a parent on the garden fence this week, too. I'm assuming that's a different pair.
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Post by matt on May 14, 2021 11:11:27 GMT
Could be the same pair and a second brood, Pete! Encouraging signs, at least - keep us posted!
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Post by pete11 on May 14, 2021 11:17:37 GMT
Just because I've got the video to share , here's a clip from Weds 12th - looks to me as if it's a male inside the box calling to the female outside, who then (towards the end of the clip) takes a brief look through the hole before heading off.
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Post by Ann70 on May 14, 2021 11:22:15 GMT
Hi Pete I Agee with Matt, same pr, possible 2nd brood, I hope your luck rubs off on to me, fingers crossed you get a nest.I had no nest this time but t the great tit is also busy feeding the young.
I’m hoping they choose a box of mine for the second brood, I have spotted the great tit on the outside of the box recently , I can but hope.
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Post by pete11 on May 14, 2021 12:58:53 GMT
Ann70 Sounds like we are in similar situations! No visits today so far, though, so this week's flurry of activity could all be a false alarm.
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Post by Ann70 on May 14, 2021 13:19:12 GMT
You never know they could still build, probably just the overlap with youngest before she starts to build I will keep checking in on any updates
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Post by pete11 on May 18, 2021 21:21:03 GMT
The male's been back a fair bit since my last post - keeps popping in and having a poke about. Still communicating with the female(?) outside. Five visits today, all pretty brief. Not sure if he's checking out other sites too - I'm guessing he probably is. Just can't seem to persuade the female to come in. Maybe she's still busy with first brood? Multiple visits like the ones in these videos have been happening on 11th, 12th, 13th, 16th, 17th and today 18th May. He doesn't seem to have given up yet!
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Post by YorksherLass on May 19, 2021 9:08:25 GMT
Pete, thanks for the clip & updated news - fingers cossed for you.
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Post by pete11 on May 19, 2021 17:16:31 GMT
More visits today. Can't help wondering if this male is just coming into the box to look for insects...there are a generally few in there most of the time.
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Post by pete11 on May 21, 2021 11:45:57 GMT
Despite the windy weather, this morning my male?/female? Great tit made a series of short visits over the course of about 5 mins. I stitched them all together in this video.
Am I imagining things, or is there some sort of 'nesting shuffle' happening around 1m20s into the video? Is this possible, if it's a male bird? Or maybe it's been a female all along?
It's got ridiculously windy now, so no more action so far today.
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Post by matt on May 21, 2021 12:00:32 GMT
You're not imagining it Pete, that was definitely what we call the "wriggle"! Doesn't mean anything for 100% (what does?) but it does suggest that she is sizing it up! It could be that the male was in first, and swapped places with the female - I don't have any great tit experience, but this is what tends to happen with the bluetits, and the swap can be pretty fast, and the birds quite hard to tell apart. All the action you are getting does seem quite promising, though! I'm pretty sure the GTs around my garden have just started on a second nest (getting fluff etc), so this would probably be about the right time?
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Post by suep on May 21, 2021 12:23:00 GMT
Fingers crossed for you Pete, that looks promising Sue
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Post by Ann70 on May 21, 2021 12:43:28 GMT
Looks promising, Pete hope the nest will be started in your box, look forward to the updates not sure where in the country you are but we also have strong wind and rain more like autumn here today
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Post by pete11 on May 21, 2021 21:29:02 GMT
You're not imagining it Pete, that was definitely what we call the "wriggle"! Great to know and thanks for confirming. I'm pretty sure (s)he did something similar yesterday afternoon but weirdly my camera stream recording mysteriously stopped so all I had to go on was the local motion detection recording which isn't continuous. Anyway, if all I get this year is a few shuffles, then it's better than nothing at all! At least it's a hint of commitment and more than just a passing interest by this pair. I'll keep everything crossed for further developments.... and hope this windy weather calms down soon! Meanwhile I'm enjoying your posts on your nesting success - I can only dream of such things at the moment.
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Post by pete11 on May 22, 2021 19:58:17 GMT
More short visits today - all strung together in this (quite long - sorry!) video - including a couple more of those 'shuffles' or 'wiggles' at 05m00s and 06m30s.
As a sideshow I'm enjoying following the progress of various dead insects in the box, which over the course of the past two weeks seem to have been used almost as decorations by these Great tits.... occasionally they seem to pick them up and reposition them, or break them up and leave a leg here, a body there. I wonder if this is all part of the ritual?
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Post by matt on May 23, 2021 13:47:12 GMT
Good luck Pete! They certainly look interested, so fingers crossed something comes of it.
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Post by pete11 on May 24, 2021 13:55:35 GMT
All gone a bit quieter today & yesterday. Just a very few brief visits. Maybe it's the bad weather... Anyway, elsewhere in the garden, very near the house, it looks as if a pair of robins are taking up residence in some ivy - presumably for a second brood. I guess if the Great tits lose interest and disappoint me, I can try and watch how the robins do instead.
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Post by Taz on May 24, 2021 14:26:56 GMT
Ooh a robins nest would be great. Hopefully they will nest there.
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Post by pete11 on May 25, 2021 17:55:51 GMT
Distinct lack of Great tit action today. Just one very brief visit inside the box (no idea if it's M or F), and another perch on the hole entrance later on. And that's it! I wonder how late they might feasibly leave it to have a second brood? Can't help thinking the shuffles and wriggles I witnessed a few days ago were just the final decider for not choosing the nestbox. Not sure what the Robins are up to in the ivy.
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Post by pete11 on May 28, 2021 10:56:22 GMT
Just a quick update in case anyone's on the edge of their seat in anticipation.... .... all still very quiet on the Great tit front here. Visits inside the box happening very very occasionally, as if they're perhaps still keeping it on their radar (?), but it's just a quick look, peck about for a few seconds, then off again. Certainly no more rearranging the dead spider fragments or shuffling or wriggling. Also I haven't seen any further Robin activity either in the last 48hrs. They seemed extremely busy bringing material into their chosen nook in the ivy a few days ago, even in the pouring rain.
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Post by sammi on May 28, 2021 14:23:13 GMT
Fingers crossed for you. I hope you get a nest.
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Post by WildlifePaul on May 31, 2021 8:57:50 GMT
Did anything become of this Pete? Great tits do sometimes have a second brood so its not uncommon for them to be looking for a second nest site at the moment
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Post by pete11 on May 31, 2021 21:15:59 GMT
Hi Paul, still nothing really significant happening ... but at least one Great tit keeps visiting the box and going inside, sometimes just a very short few seconds sometimes a few minutes. Today in fact there was a longer visit with some pecking at the entrance hole as if to test it for strength. Just don’t know what to expect..I’d have thought if they were going to go for it they’d have done so by now.
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Post by pete11 on Jun 3, 2021 12:34:54 GMT
Great tit visits to the nestbox are STILL happening intermittently.
Late this morning (s)he visited for about 2mins and did several nesting shuffles, three really big ones (starting at about 1:45 into this video)! I do wish they'd make up their minds!
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Post by matt on Jun 3, 2021 12:41:40 GMT
Pete, they drive us crazy! Welcome to the mad house
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