Birds Of A Feather

The Blue Tits are back in our garden but this time there seems to be just a pair. Remember the last time I posted on the subject there were two ladies.  Well the ladies have agreed that one of them should back down and the gent seems to have made his choice.

But has she made her choice regarding accommodation?

She just cannot decide between this highly select detached residence . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . and this rather nice semi detached property.  The other entrance is on the opposite side.  Since neither entrance on either box faces south, they might choose any entrance.  But they never choose a south facing entrance because it is too hot for their young when they hatch.

"Oh, honey! I just cannot make up my mind.  They are both beautiful . . . . .  can we have them both? Just think of all the parties and guest we can have.  I know all this waiting is ruffling up your feathers, but you will have to be patient and wait until spring.  These things take time you know!"

"Oh! shut up woman and come and join me in the pool.  It's a gorgeous day and the water is lovely - besides that I hate to say it but you have fleas!"

"Oh! fleas indeed . . . . you certainly know your way into a girl's heart!  I'll give you a right flea in your ear if you're not careful and watch out or I'll give you a right ducking! I used to be a coast guard and I am an excellent swimmer!"

Actually they all have fleas and perhaps that is why they like to wash so often in bird baths.  The photos are not very good because I had to take them through two double glazed windows which equates to four sheets of glass . . . . . plus, I had to zoom in substantially in order to get the birds into the frame.  But it gives some idea of the daily activity in the garden.  I am hopeful that these will be a breeding pair in the spring.

Both birds venture into the bird boxes regularly but they haven't built a nest in either box as yet.  I have a suspicion that they sleep in the boxes because at dusk I have seen one bird enter the top box and not come out.  Whether his lady friend was there or not I cannot tell.  Because as yet they are not yet married.  Blue Tits are birds with high morals you know and she might choose to sleep alone in the bird table box.  Believe that and you'll believe anything. LOL

Watch this space for more news in due course.

He Flew The Nest Too Soon

After last week's story about the Peacocks I thought this story about their smaller garden cousins may be of interest.

I suppose it was about 10 years ago I started building bird boxes for our garden. But first, soon after our conservatory was built, I redesigned the garden, building a curved path and some steps and walls beneath a pergola I made, together with an extremely robust garden swing under an old Victoria plum tree. Sadly the tree is no longer alive but I used it as a frame on which to grow a lovely Clematis - variety: Elizabeth Montana. I took the photo earlier this summer.Looking underneath it today I shot with my new Panasonic F562 camera the old swing, strong enough to swing an elephant, on which the children and us parents had a lot of fun. You can see some bird boxes in the background. I am very pleased with the camera which is far more versatile than its rather archaic predecessor.Straight ahead is my Blue Tit box in which we have seen many successful broods over the years - and unfortunately some unsuccessful. I remember well a brood of birds flew the nest far too early after a violent thunderstorm which must have shocked them and although the parent birds still tried to feed them out of the nest, four of the fledglings fell victim to local cats - such is the cruelty of nature.
Here is a closer shot. The hole size for a blue tit box is critical and should be about 25mm in diameter so that the birds feel safe from larger predators. The box should face away from due south to avoid the sun's direct heat - probably due north is the best position.

Parents do not like second hand nests - it is part of the courtship procedure to build a nest together to cement their relationship with one another, so before they appear it is necessary to remove last year's nest. At the back of the box I have four screws so I can take the back off to clear the old nest every year.

It is very exciting when a pair of Blue Tits are thinking of nesting. To begin with they are extremely nervous and it takes a long time for them to pluck up courage to enter the nest box. I expect Mrs Blue Tit has the last word regarding the suitability of the abode and she soon gets him busy with nest building. I expect he thinks, "Why bother to clear the thing from last year - we could have saved ourselves hours and hours of work and I could have done the prize crossword instead?" But she gets her own way every year, bless her.
I built this bird table a few years ago and it is the scene of many a wintry squabble when birds compete for the food we place there for them. Above the table is a pair of semi-detached abodes but so far Blue Tits have rejected nesting there in preference to the detached property nearby - thus keeping up with the 'Joneses' and all that! A wasp queen was not so fussy two years ago and we had a minor skirmish with a swarm of wasps, fortunately small ones, dealt with by wasp killer, hence the white mark round the hole. Eddie Bluelights was quite equal to the task!

If you look closely underneath the table you can see Mickey the Budgie's old swing. For those who do not know Mickey he was my pet budgerigar, the subject of two humorous posts, Mickey the Celibate Budgie and Mickey the Love-Sick Budgie. I have noticed that wild birds have neither the wit nor the inclination to use the swing and so far I have never seen a wild bird perched on it or playing on it except an escaped budgerigar five years ago - perhaps Mickey's ghost.
Three years ago I built another nesting box, this time for sparrows, hoping in some small way to help them to recover from a serious disease causing a severe depletion of their numbers.

The holes are about 30mm allowing access by a bigger bird than a Blue Tit, who would not dare nest there.

There are three compartments in this house and every one has been used so far - yet not all at once. There would be no problems if sparrows nested there because in no way are they territorial. However to date sparrows have not nested there, but for the last three years we have been blessed by having a pair of Great Tits nesting and producing young. Either they return every year or the chicks when adult return there. The Great Tit is a very beautiful bird but very territorial. It is great having them there but they will not tolerate Blue Tits since they compete as rivals for their territory. So the downside is that we have not had any Blue Tits nesting for 2 or 3 years.

I discovered this little chap a few weeks ago - obviously a Great Tit chick who had flown the nest too soon.

He was exhausted and could not summon the energy to fly away from me - allowing me within 2 feet of him. I toyed with the idea of picking him up and putting him back in his box but read if you do that the parents will reject him. I did see the parents flying around trying to feed him but I did not give much for his chances.
He did manage to fly into this tree so reluctantly I thought it best to leave him with his parents. There was a very slim chance of survival - as it turned out the odds were against him severely for I saw him dead at the foot of the tree the next day. I really must research what to do with fledglings who leave the nest too soon to see if they can be reared somehow in safety until they can fend for themselves.

Blue Tit (from a book)

Great Tit (from a book)

I guess the American name for Blue Tit is Blue Bird - correct me if I am wrong.
And I wonder have you a corresponding name for Great Tit?___________________________________________________________

And now another surprise! I am honoured to receive the co-runner up POTD award for 14 July 2009 from David at Authorblog. I am very grateful to you David and wish to congratulate the winner, Hilary, and all the runners up.