After not having any visitors last year we were quite excited to hear some activity in the bird box a few weeks ago.
A Great Tit pair (had to think how I should write that!) had decided to use our bird box for a late brood. The nest was quickly put together and Mrs Great Tit spent her nights going to bed early and getting up late.
Then, one sunny morning, I turned on the TV to check the nest, and there were 7 teeny little eggs. Wow!!
For the next week, Mrs Great Tit spent even more time in the nest, keeping the eggs warm despite the cold outside.
Then, one other sunny morning, the 7 teeny eggs turned into 7 teeny chicks. Wow!!
It’s hard to get all the birds to look up at the same time, so we’ve only caught 5 on this picture.
Mr and Mrs Grate Tit are working hard to feed all the chicks. Their eyes are still shut, but they’re getting bigger every day. Unfortunately, we think one has already died, and another looks very small so it’s not likely to survive for much longer. I can’t believe they’ll all fit in the box when they get fully grown. At least they’ll all be kept warm with so many feathers.
Use this link to get your own nest box complete with camera.
Series - Nest Box '13
- Nest Box Visitors
The expression ‘All mouth, and no trousers’ comes to mind, for some reason!
I’ve seen my neighbours tits on the telly aswell this year 😀
There are blue tit chicks next door but we have not been able to count them as Mrs BT has excavated a sort of cave in the nest material
And the sad news is, the nest has been abandoned. We have no idea why, and it was very sad to watch the baby chicks waiting for food that never arrived. 🙁 🙁 🙁