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Post by davrav on Feb 15, 2021 9:29:40 GMT
They go around in flocks in some areas of London and are really noisy.
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Post by Mb2t on Feb 15, 2021 10:10:20 GMT
We have the Goldfinches eating from the feeder, and they are a very messy eaters, so there is plenty of seeds falling to the floor. The pigeon now doeas not even try to eat from the feeders, there is enough on the floor, same goes for the squirrel, so there is some 'harmony' here, Goldfinches messing, the rest cleaning from the floor. I have now put a small fence to prevent the cat from jumping at the pigeons or any other bird for that matter.
It was the first time I have seen him, and he did not stay for long so I hope he did not like what we serve here... I actually did not see him - next door neighbour told me he saw him coming into our garden, so I looked at the recordings.
I am still amazed at how many different species of birds are coming into our little garden in the middle of an urban area.
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Post by Mb2t on Mar 6, 2021 21:36:39 GMT
Not clear to me what is going on in the birdbox. A couple of weeks ago it seem as if they started to build the nest. In the last few days they have removed everything! They keep coming in and out all day long. Was the 'décor' wrong? The only thing i can think of is that it got colder so maybe they decided it is still not the right time to start nesting. Any ideas?
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Post by davrav on Mar 6, 2021 22:13:17 GMT
If it is blue tits you have seen in the box they tend to checkout a few potential nest sites and will go back and forth before committing to a particular one.
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Post by shcm on Mar 7, 2021 10:53:34 GMT
In fact, not just particular to blue tits. Lot's of interesting behavioural stuff going on now. Our pair of robins are now feeding one another, which presumably is "bonding" behaviour and perhaps practice for "the main event" in a few weeks time. At the moment they are spending a fair amount of time perched next to "the food source", but I'm not really expecting them to nest there. If other birds are coming in to feed @ the same spot, being close can put young in danger from predation. I also like the way they will not fly directly back to the nest with food. If you observe, it's often a varied route, again presumably to put others "off the scent". I found it interesting that when one robin dropped a mealworm into the hedge, while trying to feed the other robin, the first robin went and recovered the worm for the second. It's not like there's a shortage of mealworms at our house. . Again, possibly behaviour for feeding young. You're not going to waste anything.
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Post by clarki on Mar 7, 2021 19:49:20 GMT
My Robin pal was back again today - was cutting the grass - even Millie the dog tried to chase!!
Seems to like to land on the same fencepost and follow the same route round the garden. Looks like he's been eating well :yes:
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Post by widge on Mar 10, 2021 17:23:35 GMT
My Robin pal was back again today - was cutting the grass - even Millie the dog tried to chase!! Seems to like to land on the same fencepost and follow the same route round the garden. Looks like he's been eating well :yes: Cutting the grass probably brought the worms out.🐍🐍
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Post by Mb2t on Mar 15, 2021 11:46:46 GMT
Well, at long last, I think we have the beginning of a nest! Will try to get some videos of the build later.
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Post by Paulus17 on Mar 15, 2021 16:28:18 GMT
Our youngest daughter was into her bird watching when she was younger, so i made and put a few bird boxes in the garden and soon had Blue tits nesting in one, so the following year i put a camera in the box and actually saw them hatching the one year. Mrs P was a childminder back then and the first started to hatch just as she was going on her school run but the kids wanted to stay and watch the chick hatch which it did and they still made it on time for school, all very excited My daughter then did her school project on the Blue tit nest box including photos from the videos and got top marks for it. :TU: We still have the Blue tits nesting to this day but there's more and more Magpies now and they watch the nest box all day when the chicks are in there. Haven't seen a Great Tit, Jay, Thrush nor Starling for a few years now they were common in the garden and apart from the Robin, Pigeons and Sparrows that's all we get in our garden with Seagulls flying about.
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Post by Mb2t on Mar 16, 2021 0:47:40 GMT
Sorry - there seem to have been an issue with youtube - now sorted, correct link below
Nest build: the Blue Tit started building the nest! I expected it to be a 'bit' more organized, but it seem like chaos... get the bits in and jumble them up until it looks like a nest... It seem that they are a pair, but at 25:30 there seem to be a third bird, and the two do not look happy...
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Post by Mb2t on Mar 17, 2021 18:22:52 GMT
Little birdy continued to fluff up the nest today, and has now moved to sleep in it! Before she (assuming it is the same one) was sleeping in the other nest box. Hope for some interesting views!
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Post by Mb2t on Apr 6, 2021 21:24:19 GMT
****News flush***** We have eggs! The image is infrared as taken before I turned the light off. As can be seen from the next picture, she hides the eggs inside the fluff of the nest, so really cannot be seen. Also, I am a bit disappointed as she (or they) do not seat in the nest during the day, only coming in to check but not staying for long. Nevertheless, exiting times!
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Post by shcm on Apr 7, 2021 7:41:54 GMT
Also, I am a bit disappointed as she (or they) do not seat in the nest during the day, only coming in to check but not staying for long. Nevertheless, exiting times! I wouldn't be too concerned for now. See end of paragraph 3 here:
quote: "Incredibly, she won't begin incubating her eggs until the last one is laid, which means her first could lie dormant for a fortnight before development of the embryo inside begins."
That's new info for me. I really would have expected a cold egg not to hatch.....but I guess it's more of a "keeping it warm challenge", once the embryo has started to grow.
That certainly happened with ospreys @ Loch Garten, a couple of seasons ago. The male seemed very inexperienced and didn't seem to grasp the fact he needed to feed the female regularly with fish. Eventually, down to hunger, the female was forced to leave the nest for far too long periods and fish for herself. Needless to say, the eggs cooled too much and didn't hatch. :no:
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Post by Mb2t on Apr 7, 2021 9:31:59 GMT
Thank you for that!!! What is described in this article is quite accurate si far. There are actually 3 eggs there. Once she lays them she hides them between the feathers in the nest, and it is very hard to see them. Really appriciate this Andy! Thank you
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Post by Mb2t on Apr 7, 2021 10:35:16 GMT
Counting this morning... 5 eggs!
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