March 8th 2004 was the first sightings of the Blue Tit in Bird Box 1. A pair were seen taking nesting material to the box for a long time. Unfortunately, a camera was not in the box at the time so therefore, no footage. However a camera was mounted outside the box and some footage of the birds going in and out was recorded.
Soon, sounds of baby birds was heard from the box and the parents were kept busy feeding the youngsters. When the younger birds fledged the nest, there was only two which is unusual for blue tit’s who usually have a brood of around 8.
In September 2004, a camera was put inside the bird box and activity was monitored. On the 1st of October, a blue tit was seen in the box for a brief period. After that, the blue tit roosted in the box every night and still does today.
In March/April 2005, a pair of blue tits were frequently visiting the nest box with nesting material and continued to build a nest, after removing the last one themselves.
The Diary
| DATE | EVENT |
| 20th April | First Egg seen in the nest! |
| 21st April | Second Egg for the Blue Tit’s |
| 22nd April | Third Egg, but hopefully still more to come |
| 23rd April | Fourth Egg seen in the nest |
| 24th April | Egg Number 5 |
| 25th April | Egg Number 6 |
| 26th April | Egg Number 7 |
| 27th April | Egg Number 8 |
| 28th April | Egg Number 9 |
| 29th April | Egg Number 10 |
| 30th April | Egg Number 11, that’s the final amount now in the Bird Box! |
| 1st May | Female now Incubating, Male is feeding the female |
| 11th May | First Eggs are hatching in Bird Box 1! |
| 13th May | 10 eggs have hatched in Bird Box 1. Male is still feeding the Female who is incubating |
| 24th May | 3 chicks have survived so far and the female blue tit is very busy feeding due to the male doing a disappearing act (he could have died or been attacked unfortunately) |
| 26th May | We were very worried last night due to the female blue tit disappearing after 8 o’clock. She was no-where to be seen and the chicks were left on their own all night. However, luckily, she came back in the morning with breakfast and has been kept busy all morning. It is likely she wanted a good night rest for once! Also, the chicks have started to venture out of the nest cup and go exploring the rest of the box! Videos and Pics to come soon. |
| 1st June | 5 o’clock in the evening, the Blue Tits fledged! Check back for season video shortly |