Saturday, 23 February 2013

Awkward nesting

Saturday, February 23, 2013 No comments

How awkward !

www.birdboxesonline.co.uk

Weather affecting Blue Tit brood size and timing in 2012

Bue Tit Cyanistes caeruleus

Average weight 11 grams

Average Lifespan 3 years

: 9 Blue Tit eggs - 3 hatched so far in this photo from 2012

We have certainly noticed at birdboxesonline that last year that the weather affecting Blue Tits was a huge contributing factor to the timing of our Blue Tits nesting. We had eleven Blue Tits in one of our camera boxes last year and all fledged on 17th May 2011, this year they laid 9 eggs of which only six hatched and survived and fledged 2 weeks later than the previous year . On average talking to others it seems they are 2 weeks behind last year - certainly in Surrey and Sussex. Were yours later?

Weather affecting Blue Tits

: 11 eggs from the blue tit 2011 nest

The birds time their nesting so there are plentiful supplies of green caterpillars about. The yellowness of the males chest bib is an indication of the amount of caterpillars he has eaten - this is due to the carotene pigments in them - the females are more attracted to yellower bib. The caterpillars can be found on many Trees plants and bushes and it is a very common site to see a bird hanging upside down from a twig to forage for them they need them to be plentiful! Each chick can eat over 100 per day - no wonder the female looks tatty and tired after they have fledged!

: Blue Tit feeding chicks

The average clutch of Blue Tit eggs tend to be about 10 - 12 although I have heard from others as well as my own studies, this year's eggs seem to be lower in numbers. The UK generally had above average weather in March 2012 but went on to have the wettest April in over a century.
How this will effect the population generally is a bit more guess work - 70 - 80% of blue tits die each year, a huge mortality rate and most of that figure is made up of young birds - it's a brutal Darwinian process..

: Fledgeling Blue Tit

However Blue Tits can live a long time 15 - 20 years in extreme rare cases. So will the population dip slightly or will the amount of breeding pairs remain roughly constant? If they can survive through the first year they have a knack for survival and are more likely to survive to breed again? This paper has noted a higher chance of breeding females being predated and the males possible countering that with feeding rituals. I suspect that this year will make little difference on the population as a whole. However if spring in 2013 has more weather affecting Blue Tits it may be another story.
Rob
www.birdboxesonline.co.uk

where to put my birdbox?

If only there were hard a fast rules about siting your bird box but unfortunately there are not. As they say location, location location!

Here is some help to plan your camera nestbox site.

Below are 10 tips to help

Place your nest box with camera with your species in mind

Do not place your nest box with camera in constant bright sunshine

Make sure your nest box with camera is securely fastened to the tree, post etc. Use screws, nylon straps to secure it - even in the strongest winds

Make sure your nest box with camera is out of reach of ground predators - cats etc

Think about a hole protector if squirrels may be a problem - not needed for woodpeckers as they will make their own hole into the nest!

Make sure your nest box with camera has a clear entrance / exit hole to allow clear flight to and from the nest

Avoid putting it in well used areas - although I have seen blue tits nesting by some bodies front door!

Make sure the nest box with camera is clean at the end of every season

Birds will nest where they feel safe - not just from predators but noise as well

If the bird box does not get used- move it to another position and try again

Make sure the hole has a clear flight path

In gardens, bird boxes should be erected between 5 – 6ft if they

are not likely to be predated. At this height it will be a lot easier to clean them at the end of the season

Boxes can be put up higher 8 – 12ft if predation or human disturbance might be an issue.

Do I need to clean out my birdboxes from last year

Yes, Make sure that the box is clean inside. Remove last years nest and wash the box inside with hot water. There is no need to add nesting material inside the box if there is anything inside the box it usually gets removed by the nesting birds anyway.

If you want to put a nest box camera in your existing birdbox or nesting boxes they can be bought from here

bird box cameras birdbox camera kit

The Advantages of a bird nesting box camera

nesting boxes

National Nest Box week 2013

Saturday, February 16, 2013 birdboxesonline, birds nesting, Great Tits, national nest box week, www.birdboxesonline.co.uk No comments

It is national nest box week 2013 a yearly event to help promote bird boxes run by the BTO.

To celebrate we have our nest cams up early - www.birdboxesonline.co.uk

scroll down to the middle of the page to see the live feed

as it is so early we only have a little bit of activity during the day in the boxes but from about 5.30 pm we have a Great Tit roosting in one of our boxes

Give it a go - visit our shop to buy a bird box and camera

Great Tits

Sunday, February 10, 2013 birdboxesonline, birds nesting, Great Tits, www.birdboxesonline.co.uk No comments

More Great Tits in one of our boxes. This box is 70 metres away from the recorder with a join in the cable. Its sort of an exercise to see the physical limits withy different cameras and kit