logoimage

Elizabeth & Malcolm's Bluetit Pages

Welcome to our bluetit diary for 2024

This year I am going to have another go at keeping this diary.  It will probably be briefer than in the distant past, but better something than nothing!  Also, I shall keep the webcams running, and I shall definitely try to update the Summary and Overview pages.

Last autumn, Box1 was blown off its mount.  I feared for the worst, but to my relief, the camera was not damaged.  The problem was due to the mount becoming rotten with old age.  I know the feeling!  However, this was fairly easy to fix as the box itself was sound.

The day after I had remounted it, we had a visitor!

As regular readers of this web site will know, I have been keeping this diary about the nesting of the blue (and occasionally great) tits in our garden in Mayford, Surrey since February 2001.  The Overview page gives the dates of the principal events, such as the start of nest building, egg laying, hatching and fledging, and the important statistics, such as how many eggs were laid, hatched and fledged.  Also each year has its own Summary page which gives more details about that year's events.

In 2013, 2015 and 2016, two females shared the nest box between them, laying a total of 21 eggs in 2013, 18 eggs in 2015 and 17 in 2016.  To watch the two hens co-operating with incubating and feeding the chicks was amazing - I did not realise such things happened!

To explore the site click on the Menu button at the top of every page.  This brings up a context sensitive menu depending on which page it is situated.  It provides a sensible selection of options which can be used to explore the site.

Latest news.

Monday 11th March, 2024

There is still little action in the nest boxes.  Neither box has any nesting material in it yet.

However, I have had several interesting sightings on the Fat Feeder cam which is well worth watching.  Here is a blackcap which had become a frequent visitor.  I have also seen several long tailed tits, including a group of 4, a nuthatch, and perhaps more surprisingly, a goldcrest!

As well as the normal multitude of blue, coal and great tits.

 

This page was last updated on Friday, 15 March 2024 11:19