BirdBox 2015: eight chicks face the world

During the week, all 8 of our blue tit chicks left the security of the nest box.

 

We have been away for a few days, so missed all the excitement, but have been able to catch up with the story, thanks to the video and data saved on the Raspberry Pi camera system.

We have not seen much of the blue tit family since we got back, but I did see about 6 of the chicks plus the two parents feeding in the apple tree this morning.

BirdBox2015: who's she?

A few more days of feeding and the chicks continue to grow.

They are now about two thirds of the way through their time in the nest, with a predicted departure day of next Tuesday (26th May).

And we still seem to have 8 healthy looking chicks, and 2 very capable parents.

BirdBox2015: chicks are doing well

It is now just over a week since the blue tit chicks hatched out and started demanding food.

They seem to be growing fast and are starting to look like prototype birds.

And by this weekend they will be half way through this stage, with only around 10 days left before leaving the nest and having to face the world outside.

BirdBox2015: It's a girl!

OK, so its not a princess, but the arrival of chicks in the blue tit nest is of more interest in this house than a royal baby + a general election.

They must have started hatching over night, and by 6am Thursday morning there were at least 4 chicks in among the remaining eggs.

So let's hope that both parents and chicks can survive for the next few weeks and successfully fledge!

BirdBox2015: we wait patiently

Our female blue tit has been sitting on her clutch of eggs for 5 or 6 days.

So it may be another 9 or 10 days before we start to see chicks breaking out of their eggs and demanding to be fed.

That is assuming that the local predators don't carry away mum or dad first!

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?

BirdBox2015: monitoring two video streams from motion

We now have two bird boxes which can stream video across our dedicated bird box wifi network.

Prompted by NestBoxTech I have spent a couple of hours this morning looking at simple and tidy ways to monitor the video created by the motion application.

The easiest way has got to be to use a web browser.

BirdBox2015: the blue tit daily routine

A pair (or possibly more than one pair) of blue tits have been visiting our two Raspberry Pi bird boxes since early March.

 

They have a little daily routine which is likely to continue for another week, before they change gear, and start the business of nest building.

Both Pi powered systems seem to be working well, so I'll be ready when the real action kicks off.

BirdBoxPi2015: deployed at last!

I managed to finish off the 2015 bird box on Wednesday and attached it to an archway, just a few metres outside our back door.

Something triggered it around midday yesterday, but didn't stick around long enough to be captured on video.

I just have a small niggle where the system is taking 15-20 seconds to find the time file. But other than that, its all systems go!

BirdBoxPi2015: this 'n that

The clock is ticking, but things are coming together nicely, if a little slowly.

Our garden is alive with birds at the moment, with mixed groups of finches, common tits (blue, coal & great), and the usual favourites including blackbird, thrush and a pair of robins.

To be honest, once we switched one of our feeders from mixed bird seed to sun flower hearts, we have seen quite an increase in bird traffic.

BirdBoxPi2015: Jessie U-Turn & other troubles

Unfortunately I've had to abandon Raspbian Jessie and return to Wheezy.

But I'm now back on track, with both hardware and software performing as expected.

I started out using Jessie and had no problems with my Gambas applications, custom scripts and other applications that I rely on for my system, including VLC media player.

BirdBox2015: Picaxe controller details

Progress has been slow due to other commitments, and a heavy bout of man-flu.

But I've been testing the Picaxe powered controller with a RaspberryPi and it works just as I had hoped.

This low power controller may even be a useful building block for other battery-powered application.

BirdBoxPi2015: using a Picaxe controller

Looking back at my last 2 posts, I started thinking about how I might incorporate a Picaxe into the BirdBoxPi2015 controller.

Although the 8 pin Picaxe is a little more expensive than the 555 timer currently used, it does offer more flexibility.

My RaspberryPi bird box system runs from a 12Volt, 12Ahour "mobility" lead-acid battery.

BirdBoxPi2015: Using RaspberryPi model A+

I'm running way behind this year, but I've now started building a RaspberryPi powered nest box for the 2015 season.

The 2014 system will be re-assembled, bolted to the side of a tit box and used again without any real changes.

But the 2015 controller version will be much smaller, and hopefully will fit inside a bird box without the need for its own enclosure.