Bluetit Diary    Feb 2001 (1)

I recently ordered a new tit box with an in-built video camera from Boxwatch.  We intend to use it to replace the tit box on the hornbeam at the bottom of our garden that has been occupied by bluetits each year for several years. The complete kit arrived this afternoon.  It is very impressive; it is well-built using good quality materials and components.  The first problem was how to get the cable from the video camera to the TV.  Elizabeth and I discussed various alternatives but finally we decided that a hole through the wall was the best solution.  I tested everything in the sitting room first to make sure it all worked before installing the box outside.  The picture on the left shows how the lid of the box, which contains the camera, opens.

I went out and hired a drill and bit suitable for drilling a 1½ inch diameter hole. Later, I shall be linking the box to our computer as well, so as well as the hole into the sitting room I also drilled one into the study. During the afternoon I installed the box, and was very pleased to get it working straight away. The birds had already been showing quite an interest in the old box, and Elizabeth was worried that they might not like the new one - it really should have been up earlier.

The birds are interested in the box, but so far they have not landed on it.

Birds have been going on to the box, sometimes looking inside it, but so far they have not been brave enough to go right inside. This looks very promising so we have high hopes of achieving our aim, and watching a pair of bluetits rearing a family. When the television set is on the correct channel, and the camera is switched on we can hear noises and the pattern of light inside the box changes as a bird peeps in and then looks out again to check that all is safe.

Early this morning I noticed a bird on the box. On several occasions we thought it was going to go inside - it was leaning in so far that sometimes all that we could see on the outside was its tail. Unfortunately, it was not quite brave enough to make the final jump. The weather is quite dull and damp at the moment, and the birds never seem so lively in weather like this.

Birds are still showing interest in the box, but as far as we know no bird has gone right inside. However this morning we were out for an hour or two. When we returned we could see a small twig or some little piece of material inside the box. I had already decided that when it was getting dark I would go up a ladder and adjust the camera slightly, because it was not properly centred on the box. We had thought that the birds would have gone to bed by this time because they don't seem to be very active when it is getting dark. About 10 minutes after I had done this we were both in the dining room and heard a noise from the television set and saw the beak and head of a bluetit on the screen. However, it still did not go right inside the box.

We were very excited today when we found a bird in the box. We heard a noise from the television set, and when we rushed into the sitting room were able to watch the bird inside the box. It sat on the floor of the box and pecked around in the corner and at the walls of the box.

Again we saw a bird in the box. While we were still in bed in the morning, I had seen a bird perching on the hole, but not actually going inside. We wondered if maybe we should not be switching on the camera because that means the light is on inside the box, but we decided to try it for a little bit longer. Our patience was rewarded, and a bird went inside and pecked around, inspecting the box.

Today we have seen a bird inside the box eight times. We have been in the sitting room and dining room more often than usual, because our granddaughter is here with us at the moment, as it's half term. I have now been able to link the television set, the bird box camera and the video recorder together, so now we shall be able to record the activities of the bird when it comes inside the box.

We saw a bird inside the box 12 times today.

Today we saw a bird inside the box 15 times. There was also quite a lot of activity outside the box, pecking around and thoroughly investigating the walls and roof.

We have seen a bird inside the box only 11 times today. The morning and early afternoon were dull and drizzly, with a cold wind. However the late afternoon was brighter, and there was a little flurry of activity. On one occasion this morning a bird went straight into the box without hesitation, although it had been perched on a branch above the box for a little while. Another time a bird took in a bit of moss, left it on the floor for a little while, but then picked it up and took it out of the box again.

Today has been bright and sunny but rather cold. There has been a lot of activity in the box, but unfortunately the bird is investigating the gap inside the top of the box, and this is out of sight of the camera - we can hear noises of pecking and scratching around, and occasionally we see a tail or a flutter of wings. It is very frustrating because the bird is obviously very busy but we can only guess at what it is doing. On several occasions now we have seen one or two droppings inside the box, then later we have seen the bird remove them.

We have only seen a bird in the box 3 times today, but we have not been around much to hear the noise when a bird lands on the box. It has also become much colder although it is quite bright and sunny. There is also a cold wind, and we have noticed that there is less activity in these conditions.

There has been a lot of activity this morning. It is another bright day, with a cold wind. There are two or three bits of moss in the box, and a bird has been going in and out quite frequently. On one occasion when there was a bird in the box, another bird came onto the hole and made a cheeping noise but did not go inside. A bit later, when there was not a bird in the box, a bird twice came onto the hole and cheeped - perhaps expecting to find a bird already in the box.

Towards the end of the day a bird came into the box and after scratching around a bit, went up into the roof space. Of course we could not see it but the noises indicated that it was there. This went on for quite a while, and so we decided to switch the video recorder on. Eventually the other bird came inside the box, and settled down on the floor. It was very wet and bedraggled, and spent quite a while preening itself. It also kept stretching up and looking anxiously at the attic space. Finally it settled down, tucked itself up into a fluffy ball and went to sleep. It was quite still and you could clearly see it breathing at about 96 breaths per minute. It then woke up, stretched up looking at the attic, did a bit more preening, and tucked himself up again, this time under the other wing. Finally it decided to go up into the attic itself. It was getting quite dark by this time, so we switched off the recording but we are fairly confident that they both slept in the box for the night.

There was quite a lot of activity in the morning; a bird was going in and out frequently. Later on in the morning we noticed a couple of pieces of straw in the bottom of the box. A bird had slept in the box overnight.

One of the birds, presumably the female, keeps on coming and going with bits of nesting material, sometimes leaving it and sometimes removing it. From time to time she performs a nesting wriggle. This means that she flutters across the bottom of the box keeping her breast on the floor. She does this although at the moment there is practically no nesting material in the box at all.

Later in the day at about six o′clock we noticed that within the last hour lots of feathers had appeared in the bottom of the box. It looked as though there had been a fight.