Bluetit Diary    May 2004 (2)

 

 

Monday 3rd May, 2004

I seem to have made an arithmetical error when forecasting the date of the hatching of Fluffy's chicks!  Bluetits eggs normally hatch after about 12 days of incubation, and given that Fluffy started incubating on 23rd April, this should imply that they hatch out about 5th May ie tomorrow.  Somehow when I did the calculation last time I made it 2nd May!

Neptune is still looking for Fantail.  We often wonder what became of her.  My impression is that she flew out on him - her disappearance for a day before her final night in the nest box would seem to me to indicate that her departure was not forced.

Elizabeth is kinder to her and thinks she must have been taken by a predator.

Neptune is back again - this time with a small green caterpillar!  He appears to leave it in the nest cup before he leaves.

This is his last visit of the day at about half past five.

Fluffy carries on incubating, being fed regularly by Barney.

Every now and again she goes into a period of hyperactivity, flying into and out of the nest box apparently achieving very little.  Is she just getting some exercise?

This shows her entering the box at just after six o'clock, ....

 .... and leaving again 3 seconds later.

She is back once more 4 seconds after that.

In all, she was going in and out of the box 9 times a minute and kept that up for about three minutes!