Nest Boxes .....

CorkNest

I'm wathcing 3 nestboxes with cameras - 2 blue tit and 1 great tit.
All are now incubating & the female will be sitting on the eggs for approx 12-14 days, leaving the nest only the odd time.

The male visits the nest box to feed her but this happens really fast, less that 2 seconds, so if you blink, you'll miss it!

I've the great tit nest streaming video live during the daytime. Hatching is due any time now you can watch here:
CorkNest.com/live/

E39MSport

10 Eggs this year in the wired box. My second of 2 BT boxes is also in use and the male appears to be feeding an incubating female at this time.



I'll hopefully get some vid footage of the hatchlings.

Clearpreso

Mooney Goes Wild (RTE) seems to have a Cam on some Blue Tits that are just hatching NOW! http://www.rte.ie/radio/mooneygoeswild/features/mooneycam/bluetitcam.html

CorkNest

Clearpreso wrote: »

Mooney Goes Wild (RTE) seems to have a Cam on some Blue Tits that are just hatching NOW! http://www.rte.ie/radio/mooneygoeswild/features/mooneycam/bluetitcam.html

you're right - just checked and I counted 5 chicks...

E39MSport

The female started incubating before the weekend however the male seems to be missing of late. Absolutely no sign whatsoever, no chatter etc. I have a terrible feeling he's dead. Female is leaving the nest every 15 minutes or so whereas before she was being fed by the male.

Not good for the clutch.

CorkNest

E39MSport wrote: »

...the male seems to be missing of late. Absolutely no sign whatsoever, no chatter etc...

hopefully he'll appear again, if not you might leave out some peanuts or something so the female spends less time feeding herself while incubating.

also if eggs hatch then you can provide help with mealworms, but they have to be live & that's not for everyone - you can get them from monkfield in the uk. I've used these in the past with blue tits, and they will feed them to the chicks.

there's also a uk forum where I've seen discussions on lone parents and how they got on: Bigg Bird Forum

E39MSport

Very interesting CorkNest - thanks. Looks like a good site. I'm curious to know how they manage to get the mealworms delivered live? Anything that needs to be done to them to keep them alive after they arrive?

I inspected the feeder area in the garden yesterday and there are signs of predation and small feathers so I'm guessing it was him. I have 2 sites and the second (unmonitored) box contains a female being fed by a male.

'My' female is definitely alone now. I am indeed providing dried mealworms and she is darting out of the nest every so often to stretch and feed on the dried food.

She has a tough few weeks ahead and I want to help in any way I can.

I'll have a read of the Bigg Bird forum - thanks for the links.


EDIT: - Perhaps I'm worrying too much. It seems some males can leave the female to her own devices during incubation but be a great parent after hatching.

That site Bigg Bird is a great read CorkNest - ta.

E39MSport

CorkNest wrote: »

I'm wathcing 3 nestboxes with cameras - 2 blue tit and 1 great tit.
All are now incubating & the female will be sitting on the eggs for approx 12-14 days, leaving the nest only the odd time.

The male visits the nest box to feed her but this happens really fast, less that 2 seconds, so if you blink, you'll miss it!

I've the great tit nest streaming video live during the daytime. Hatching is due any time now you can watch here:
CorkNest.com/live/

Nice quality. No issues with upstream bandwidth I assume. You can't be in Ireland

CorkNest

E39MSport wrote: »

I'm curious to know how they manage to get the mealworms delivered live? Anything that needs to be done to them to keep them alive after they arrive?.

I get 500gramms and they arrive in a carboard box, inside there's a breathable sealed bag and inside that is some newspapers with the mealworms. So I take an emptly large tub - the ones you see with fat balls for feeding the birds - and shake the newpapers to drop the mealworks in. They don't need any particular care, I keep the tub in in a shed and you can throw some potatoe slices or apple in, they'll feed away on them. I order about 3 boxes over 3 weeks during the time the chicks are being fed.
The box is marked with 'live biological material', I'm not sure the postman has copped what's actually inside:D

re bandwiddh - uing three mobile broaband, it's chomping thru 65MB/hour and 2fps. I've a 30gb monlly limit so I've bought some extra pay as you go credit if I go over (likely)

E39MSport

I ordered a kilo from them this morning. I have a mini fridge that I can use. Don't want them to escape into the home freezer like maggots did a while back :eek:
They get into every tiny hole. Lesson learned

E39MSport

Little lonely BT had another pair interested in her box today. They persisted until I went to her rescue.

CorkNest

last of the 7 great tits hatched yesterday, here's a one day old chick being fed. Live video coverage continues, we'll get a better view when the chicks when they 'grow into the picture'...

E39MSport

E39MSport wrote: »

Little lonely BT had another pair interested in her box today. They persisted until I went to her rescue.

The male has made several appearances today to feed her

Some curious sparrows stressing her out though....

CorkNest

well all 7 have survived so far with out the male.
fledging possible from yesterday, live coverage

mealworms are being put out, and being used, by the single mum. V windy this morning but sunny between showers. not ideal flying weather:mad:

CorkNest

well they didn't leave yesterday. the storm last night caused a power cut and/or surge and has damaged the outside camera. the 2 inside cams and everything else is ok so live coverage continues.

the forcast for munster is 90-100km/hr winds today!! never obama and his heli, what about the chicks if they fledge? They were fairly active yesterday afternoon, 1 was half out of the entrance hole but didn't go in the end.

CorkNest

6 of the 7 went at 0930 but the last one held on till 18:20!

E39MSport

All 10 Fledged this morning at 10am mocking my 4am appointments with them for the past 2 days

Some more successful than others and had to be rescued. Parents currently feeding with my mealworms and usual fodder

Thinking about it


Great success


Just short


Neary there


Rescued from the ditch


Looking on

CorkNest

E39MSport - great pics.
my other nestbox, bluetits, also fledged - I think about 3 yesterday and 1 early this morning.

E39MSport

CorkNest wrote: »

E39MSport - great pics.
my other nestbox, bluetits, also fledged - I think about 3 yesterday and 1 early this morning.

Those mealworms went a long long way - thanks again for the advice

BT's, sparrows, blackbirds and starling chicks all benefited greatly at crucial times (edit: especially when the weather turned)

artieanna

Anyone putting up new nestboxes this year????

mgwhelan

Im just back from putting up two boxes under bridges near me, one's upstream from last years dipper box.



Have around 60 tit boxes, 4 treecreeper boxes, one kestrel and one barn owl box ready to go up when i get the chance.

BenEadir

Hi all,

Purchased my first nest box last year (an Aldi one like the one with the hole in it here http://www.aldi.ie/ie/html/offers/special_buys3_20394.htm) and put it north facing about 2.2 metres high on the wall of my shed about 50cm down from the roof. It was too late when I put it up (July) so wasn't surprised when it wasn't used by some nesting birds. I also put up a seed feeder about 2m high just outside our back window. It's about 10 metres away from the bird house which is as far away as our garden will allow them to be. (I read that feeders and bird houses should not be side by side or close to each other.

I still don't have any birds occupying the bird house (as far as I can ascertain) but a red breasted robin recently started eating the seeds so I'm hoping that's a sign that some tits might soon start eating the seeds also and occupy the bird house to have their young.

There are a fair few magpies around so I really want other birds to frequent the garden but perhaps they are 'afraid' of the magpies??

Aldi had the nest boxes on offer again yesterday and I'm tempted to get another couple but a bit concerned that my garden might be a bit too cramped to house 3 nest boxes and a seed feeder.

Lets say my garden is 8 metres deep from the back wall of my house to the rear boundary wall. I already have one box in the top left corner of the rear boundary wall (as you look out my back door) where it meets the garden shed and I have the seed feeder at a 2 metre height on the right corner of the back wall of my house i.e. basically high to the right of the back door as you go out the door.

I'd appreciate your thoughts on whether or not I should mount another 2 nest boxes, one high on the right of the rear boundary wall which will be about 6 metres from the existing nest box (it will have a good crop of ivy coming onto it soon) and another one diagonally across from that on the left corner of the back wall of my house i.e. high to the left as you walk out the back door. This would be 6 metres from the seed feeder and about the same from the existing nest box.

If any of that makes sense perhaps someone could give me a steer? I'd love to have a couple of occupied boxes but would settle for one if it's a bad idea to mount another two.

BTW, when is the right time to mount the boxes? I assume it's around now?

Cheers,

Ben

Boardnashea

artieanna wrote: »

Anyone putting up new nestboxes this year????

Yeah, we have started building a few and putting them up around the place. Small ones for now but love to get bigger as skills allow.
I love the one under the bridge above.

mgwhelan

Pair of great tits checking out a box I put up just the day before. Not much hope of them fitting into the 25mm entrance hole do, I have a 32mm box a few yards farther down the ditch which they have used the last few years. Also seen blue tits checking it out .





Was delighted to see my jackdaw boxes been inspected as well. Two boxes by two separate pairs, happy days.

first box


second