Birdbox 2023: new home, new location, new birdbox

2022 was all about moving house

 

so I didn't have time to fire-up the birdbox system or even keep my eye on nesting progress.

And I'm not sure that this year will be much better, but here goes.

BirdBox 2021: tits, robins & wrens

Its been a strange season, and no mistake.

The cold weather, early on, seems to have delayed everything.

And we have seen at least 4 things we have never witnessed before.

BirdBox2020: it didn't end well

It was shaping up nicely for an interesting bird box season.

Several birds tried our camera nest box for size and some even laid a few eggs.

But with only a week to go before the chicks were due to fledge, it all went tits up!

BirdBox 2020: April...it's been a funny old month!

There has been a lot of traffic in our maple tree bird box during April.

 

We've seen trespassers, thieves, and changes of ownership.

So guess who our current tenants are?

BirdBox2020: here we go again

Listen! ...I can hear the birds!

The Covid Crisis has resulted in an unexpected benefit...

...a dramatic drop in traffic noise.

BirdBox2019: great tits & robins

Unlike 2018, we haven't had the excitement of birds being evicted from their nest [so far] this season.

Developments in the 'maple tree' birdbox are continuing as you may expect.

But we do have the added interest of robins nesting in an old analogue camera box.

Garden Birds: a pox upon thee

We sometimes see birds in our garden that are clearly 'not right'.

A few have physical disabilities such as broken or missing feet or legs.

While others are clearly just unwell.

BirdBox 2019: early interest (...plus hog & bats update)

Seeing small garden birds showing an interest in our bird boxes is a reminder that the nest box season will soon be upon us.

There is a long run in, a couple of months of building, egg laying and chick rearing, and then its all over for another year.

So make sure you are ready by putting up any new boxes now!

BirdBox2018: our mixed species nest

Its been a very interesting season watching how the story unfolds in our mixed tit species nest.

The chicks have now left the safety of the box to take their chances in the big wild world.

So this post just reviews what we observed and what I think may have happened.

BirdBox2018: Blue Tits hatch in Great Tit nest

All 6 of the blue tit eggs hatched by the 15th May.

By my reckoning it was almost 5 weeks from the time the first egg was laid until the last had hatched.

BirdBox2018: The Great Tit Takeover

Things were going well for our resident blue tits.

They had spent weeks checking out the nest box on our maple tree before building a nest and laying a few eggs.

Then the great tits rocked up!

BirdBox 2018: time-lapse video

For 2018 I thought I'd try to gather periodic snapshots from my Maple tree bird box.

The idea is to make a series of time-lapse videos.

I'm hoping to capture nest building and maybe show the chicks growing from tiny naked blobs to fully feathered birds.

Nature with Tech 2018

Although we have had some very bright, sunny days during February, it has also often been very cold.

And it looks like we have some seriously cold days to come during early March.

However, there are still some signs that our garden birds are thinking about nest building...

Inexperienced parents: I just don't buy it!

A common reason offered for the failure of a pair of garden birds to successfully raise a brood is that "...the parents are probably inexperienced..."

This view seems to be so widespread, that even the good folk on BBC SpringWatch have been known to offer this explanation.

But surely this is another example of people dreaming up a simple theory without thinking things through...

BirdBox2016: 2nd Pi Power box deployed

We fixed our second Pi-powered bird box to the Canadian Maple in our garden yesterday afternoon.

In the first few hours this morning, bathed in glorious winter sunshine, we had plenty of interest from a blue tit or two.

So this is a very promising start to the 2016 nest box season.

BirdBox2016: the role of the Picaxe

As 2015 gives way to a new year, so its time to ready those bird boxes for the coming nesting season.

My original 2014 Raspberry Pi box remains unchanged, although it will be sited higher than previous years, this time maybe 3 metres up the trunk of our Canadian Maple.

But last years (2015) Picaxe + Pi box has undergone a few more changes, so maybe this is a good time to mention them.

BirdBox2015: do we have our first egg?

The blue tits in last years box (the BirdBox2014 design) have continued to build and develop their nest.

Its team work, with the female doing apparently all materials procurement and building, while the male keeps guard and throws his little body at other blue & great tits that dare come too close.

And we may even have our first egg, if my interpretation of the event logs is correct.

BirdBox2015: no wait!....something is happening!

I dragged myself out of bed just after 7am to make the tea, and turn on the bird box monitor.

I was greeted by a blank screen, meaning both boxes were off.

But by the time I'd emptied the dishwasher, a female eSpeak voice proudly announced "bird box...on".

BirdBox2015: any takers?

I'm becoming increasingly concerned that both Raspberry Pi powered bird boxes may remain empty this season.

 

Not only has activity dropped right off, but the expected "move-in" date has now passed.

Have we just been unlucky, have I done something wrong, or are the local garden birds running late this year?

BirdBoxPiCam2014: open the box

Although the great tits left this nest box a few weeks ago, I decided to leave the box undisturbed until June.

The system has been triggered four or five times since then, but I suspect this was only caused by flying critters like bees, moths and large flies, as their visits were too brief to result in any useful video capture.

So today I took the box down and opened it up...