Birds Of A Feather

The Blue Tits are back in our garden but this time there seems to be just a pair. Remember the last time I posted on the subject there were two ladies.  Well the ladies have agreed that one of them should back down and the gent seems to have made his choice.

But has she made her choice regarding accommodation?

She just cannot decide between this highly select detached residence . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . and this rather nice semi detached property.  The other entrance is on the opposite side.  Since neither entrance on either box faces south, they might choose any entrance.  But they never choose a south facing entrance because it is too hot for their young when they hatch.

"Oh, honey! I just cannot make up my mind.  They are both beautiful . . . . .  can we have them both? Just think of all the parties and guest we can have.  I know all this waiting is ruffling up your feathers, but you will have to be patient and wait until spring.  These things take time you know!"

"Oh! shut up woman and come and join me in the pool.  It's a gorgeous day and the water is lovely - besides that I hate to say it but you have fleas!"

"Oh! fleas indeed . . . . you certainly know your way into a girl's heart!  I'll give you a right flea in your ear if you're not careful and watch out or I'll give you a right ducking! I used to be a coast guard and I am an excellent swimmer!"

Actually they all have fleas and perhaps that is why they like to wash so often in bird baths.  The photos are not very good because I had to take them through two double glazed windows which equates to four sheets of glass . . . . . plus, I had to zoom in substantially in order to get the birds into the frame.  But it gives some idea of the daily activity in the garden.  I am hopeful that these will be a breeding pair in the spring.

Both birds venture into the bird boxes regularly but they haven't built a nest in either box as yet.  I have a suspicion that they sleep in the boxes because at dusk I have seen one bird enter the top box and not come out.  Whether his lady friend was there or not I cannot tell.  Because as yet they are not yet married.  Blue Tits are birds with high morals you know and she might choose to sleep alone in the bird table box.  Believe that and you'll believe anything. LOL

Watch this space for more news in due course.

The Birds And The Bees - And It Looks Promising For The Blue Tit Nesting Season

Hi Folks!

I'm still very busy these days but I managed to get a great camera shot of a Blue Tit bird this morning whilst it was investigating my bird box.

In fact there were three birds 'flitting' around, presumably site seeing the local property market.  They all seemed interested in this renovated bird box on which I had worked during the summer.  One bird in particular appeared fascinated with it and I presumed it was the male.  His companions, which I judged to be females, did not venture quite as close as he to the entrance since it is not yet the breeding season. So he will not be trying to entice a female just yet, but no doubt he will be practising his sweet talking chat up lines over the winter months.

I watched him go in and out a few times but the ladies seemed reluctant to enter just yet, perhaps turning their noses up at the property and wanting a better one with hot and cold running water, an en suite, solar panels, a dish washer and all the mod cons.  I detected also a little animosity between the other two birds, which is why I was prompted to think they might be females. My imagination was kindled and I pictured a humorous clash between the two jealous females competing for this attractive gentleman.  One might have said  to the other, "Now listen lady, and listen good - that man is taken!".  The other might have replied, "Oh really! he didn't tell me that, so obviously he hasn't decided yet, has he?".  The first and more aggressive one might retort angrily. "Hey! Now listen again lady.  There are two things I never share. The first is my toothbrush, the second is my man. Now back off!"

Whichever lady he might eventually choose I imagined this poor little fellow might have his work cut out to convince his would-be mate that this property is a highly desirable detached one bedroom residence, complete with bird bath/swimming pool, and situated in a very select area near a good secondary modern school.  And boy, you can't ask for much more than that.  Further, the property has been revamped during the summer months and has a new roof, complete with lead flashing.  Whatever you do don't tell the magpies!  Further, would you believe,  this little gem of a house has been furnished with a nice coat of paint, both externally and internally - what more could any bird want?

Still, there's no way of pleasing every female, some of whom seem decidedly choosy.  Take a tip from me fellow, work on your Buff Bod, get into shape, develop your Wit and your Charm and forget about the house - then they'll come flocking to you..

On a more serious note during the summer I dismantled the box and gave it a thorough clean inside and out because two years ago we did not have Blue Tits nesting there but some very strange visitors.   You may remember we had a nest of Bumble Bees residing at the same address.

"Not a pretty sight, honey", thought the Blue Tits that year, so they missed out big time on five star accommodation.

A breeding pair of Blue Tits did return early last year, beating the Bumble Bees back to the scene, completely out manoeuvring them by exercising early squatting rights.  Once they had taken up residence an angry Queen Bumble Bee returned and seemed determined to repossess the property and we saw a battle royal ensue - with both birds repeatedly dive bombing the bee who eventually gave up and went elsewhere.  Well done Blue Tits. Hooray!

Those brave little birds had something else to contend with as well because higher up, attached to the house wall, a pair of Great Tits then took up residence and built their nest in my larger bird box which I actually built for sparrows.  I have had Great Tits nesting there regularly but to date no sparrows. Great Tits are larger than Blue Tits and usually bully them and chase them away. Not so last year, I am pleased to say.  Here's a shot I took of a Great Tit entering his or her abode.

It is very strange and rare that both species seemed to tolerate each other last year - normally they are both very possessive regarding their territories, particularly the Great Tits. But the Blue Tits had got there first and after they had won their battle against the Queen Bumble Bee they were determined to stand their ground against the Great Titsl.  It seems that both species were situated on the edges of their agreed territories, with the Blue Tits flying out of their box in a Westerly direction and the Great Tits in an Easterly direction, so they stayed out of each others way.  I've never seen this situation before, or read about it, but I am hoping for a repeat situation this coming season.

I did purchase a handy camcorder so I could capture some of last season's activity on video.  Unfortunately both sets of birds had flown the nest the very day I had planned to film them.  I was rather disappointed and annoyed but never mind I am ready for them this year.

During the summer I cleaned out the bird nests - birds will not nest in boxes with existing nests in them.  Part of the courtship ritual is to build a nest together, so they are not in the least interested in furnished properties.

Also during the summer I cleaned out a lot a 'rubbery' residue from the previous year when the Bumble Bees had taken possession.  It was a nasty, sticky mess.  I took the whole thing apart and rebuilt it and incorporated a new roof. I'll write more when the birds nest and try to get some video clips.

Something Strange With The Bird Houses This Year

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am now going to give a short talk about the birds and the bees.

You may remember I did a post last year about the bird houses I made for my garden, and my general observations about our feathered friends nesting there and sizes of access holes for each species. I posted it in July and it was titled, He Flew The Nest Too Soon.

I made the nesting box shown in the first photograph for a common variety of bird here in England called a Blue Tit. This variety is quite small but also very aggressive and very territorial. It's larger cousin and equally aggressive, The Great Tit, is about half as large again, and will not tolerate Blue Tits in their territory, so they chase them away - I've seen it - the brutes!" In Spring we might have had Blue Tits nesting in the first photo, they were all ready to move in but, as you can see, some other inhabitants beat them to it, the squatters! In fact the Blue Tits were beaten off earlier by a pair of Great Tits, now nesting in another box, as you will see.

Cor Blimey! That queen bee must have had a few too many! Fancy building a hive in my Blue Tit bird box! Surely it is much too small. But here they are. Come and have a look, honey!

The poor little Blue Tits stood no chance, as Elvis sang they might have been 'stung by a sweet honey bee', although these are small bumble bees, not honey bees . . . but just look at all the honey oozing from inside. It makes my mouth water but I am not going to make a 'beeline' for it just yet and if I did I would have to take the back off the box to get the honey. The weather has been very hot during the last week and when I walk past the box/hive I can hear the buzz of lots of wings inside cooling the developing bee grubs so they do not get too hot and die. I will wait until the end of the year to see if I can retrieve some honey when all the workers (females) are dead and all the drones (males) and the queen take to their nuptial flight. The poor winning drone seeking her affection has to be the strongest and flies the highest with her before he captures her heart and is promptly rewarded by her ripping off his marital prospects and discarding the rest of him as he falls from the sky. Boy! I'm glad I'm not a drone bee!

So where are the Great Tits?
I've been busy with my camera. Got ya!! Nice little bird isn't he/she!

I was watching the pair for a while and they seemed to be having difficulty for that part of the day finding nice tasty protein bugs and caterpillars for their chicks. So I dug up some Earth Worms and put them on a plate. They were watching me as I retreated. And the greedy blighters swooped down and took them one by one to their chicks in their nest. Want to see? OK.

"Thank you. Mummy! - more! more!"


"Alright, alright! I'm off but watch your table manners while I'm away!"

The birds moved so fast it was quite difficult shooting stills. It is a pity my video recorder is not working - I might buy another soon.
I am reminded by all this bird talk of an event many years ago when my family were in Dartmoor, Cornwall. We pulled into a beautiful picnic area and several people were feeding bread to the birds. If memory serves me correctly I think they were Wag Tails. I remember seeing a very skinny bird that never seemed to be able to get to the bread before being buzzed by the stronger birds. So I placed a piece of bread on my reversed palm and held it out to the bird, some 20 feet away. Much to my amazement it flew straight to me and took the bread from my hand. It must have been ravenous to overcome natural fear, but it might have realised I meant it no harm. My daughter was upset that she could not get a bird to feed off her hand. Never mind, Eddie always has a way with the birds LOL.
You see how kind and gallant I am, even to the birds.

He Flew The Nest Too Soon

After last week's story about the Peacocks I thought this story about their smaller garden cousins may be of interest.

I suppose it was about 10 years ago I started building bird boxes for our garden. But first, soon after our conservatory was built, I redesigned the garden, building a curved path and some steps and walls beneath a pergola I made, together with an extremely robust garden swing under an old Victoria plum tree. Sadly the tree is no longer alive but I used it as a frame on which to grow a lovely Clematis - variety: Elizabeth Montana. I took the photo earlier this summer.Looking underneath it today I shot with my new Panasonic F562 camera the old swing, strong enough to swing an elephant, on which the children and us parents had a lot of fun. You can see some bird boxes in the background. I am very pleased with the camera which is far more versatile than its rather archaic predecessor.Straight ahead is my Blue Tit box in which we have seen many successful broods over the years - and unfortunately some unsuccessful. I remember well a brood of birds flew the nest far too early after a violent thunderstorm which must have shocked them and although the parent birds still tried to feed them out of the nest, four of the fledglings fell victim to local cats - such is the cruelty of nature.
Here is a closer shot. The hole size for a blue tit box is critical and should be about 25mm in diameter so that the birds feel safe from larger predators. The box should face away from due south to avoid the sun's direct heat - probably due north is the best position.

Parents do not like second hand nests - it is part of the courtship procedure to build a nest together to cement their relationship with one another, so before they appear it is necessary to remove last year's nest. At the back of the box I have four screws so I can take the back off to clear the old nest every year.

It is very exciting when a pair of Blue Tits are thinking of nesting. To begin with they are extremely nervous and it takes a long time for them to pluck up courage to enter the nest box. I expect Mrs Blue Tit has the last word regarding the suitability of the abode and she soon gets him busy with nest building. I expect he thinks, "Why bother to clear the thing from last year - we could have saved ourselves hours and hours of work and I could have done the prize crossword instead?" But she gets her own way every year, bless her.
I built this bird table a few years ago and it is the scene of many a wintry squabble when birds compete for the food we place there for them. Above the table is a pair of semi-detached abodes but so far Blue Tits have rejected nesting there in preference to the detached property nearby - thus keeping up with the 'Joneses' and all that! A wasp queen was not so fussy two years ago and we had a minor skirmish with a swarm of wasps, fortunately small ones, dealt with by wasp killer, hence the white mark round the hole. Eddie Bluelights was quite equal to the task!

If you look closely underneath the table you can see Mickey the Budgie's old swing. For those who do not know Mickey he was my pet budgerigar, the subject of two humorous posts, Mickey the Celibate Budgie and Mickey the Love-Sick Budgie. I have noticed that wild birds have neither the wit nor the inclination to use the swing and so far I have never seen a wild bird perched on it or playing on it except an escaped budgerigar five years ago - perhaps Mickey's ghost.
Three years ago I built another nesting box, this time for sparrows, hoping in some small way to help them to recover from a serious disease causing a severe depletion of their numbers.

The holes are about 30mm allowing access by a bigger bird than a Blue Tit, who would not dare nest there.

There are three compartments in this house and every one has been used so far - yet not all at once. There would be no problems if sparrows nested there because in no way are they territorial. However to date sparrows have not nested there, but for the last three years we have been blessed by having a pair of Great Tits nesting and producing young. Either they return every year or the chicks when adult return there. The Great Tit is a very beautiful bird but very territorial. It is great having them there but they will not tolerate Blue Tits since they compete as rivals for their territory. So the downside is that we have not had any Blue Tits nesting for 2 or 3 years.

I discovered this little chap a few weeks ago - obviously a Great Tit chick who had flown the nest too soon.

He was exhausted and could not summon the energy to fly away from me - allowing me within 2 feet of him. I toyed with the idea of picking him up and putting him back in his box but read if you do that the parents will reject him. I did see the parents flying around trying to feed him but I did not give much for his chances.
He did manage to fly into this tree so reluctantly I thought it best to leave him with his parents. There was a very slim chance of survival - as it turned out the odds were against him severely for I saw him dead at the foot of the tree the next day. I really must research what to do with fledglings who leave the nest too soon to see if they can be reared somehow in safety until they can fend for themselves.

Blue Tit (from a book)

Great Tit (from a book)

I guess the American name for Blue Tit is Blue Bird - correct me if I am wrong.
And I wonder have you a corresponding name for Great Tit?___________________________________________________________

And now another surprise! I am honoured to receive the co-runner up POTD award for 14 July 2009 from David at Authorblog. I am very grateful to you David and wish to congratulate the winner, Hilary, and all the runners up.