Nest Box Diary 2007

Week 1 - 11th March

Since early January, there has been a pair of Blue Tits visiting the garden regularly, and the male was often singing and occasionally chasing away other Blue Tits. During the first half of February they were visiting the garden very frequently throughout the day and even looked in and around the nest box quite a few times. Latterly, however, they showed little interest in the nest box.

On 11th March 2007, the female Blue Tit started to take nest material into the nest box. On a few occasions she chiselled chips of wood away from around the hole on the internal face of the front wall and then removed the chippings from the box - this is different behaviour to that of last year's female.

By the end of the week, she had accumulated quite a lot of nest material, which looks mostly like dead grasses of varies types. As last year, she has often brought material into the box, only to throw it out again a little later after having shuffled about. Then brings it back into the box. And so on.

If this year's female is last year's, Fidge, she has calmed down and spends a lot of time simply sat, quite still. Her mate is rarely seen.

Female arrives with dead grass (11th)

By the end of the week (17th)