About a week ago, I took the nest boxes down for their annual clean. Box2 had no unhatched eggs but in Box1, hidden beneath the nesting material, there was a single egg. Although it was still in one piece, it was looking very much the worse for wear - not surprising considering the fact that it had been trampled on by a nest full of bluetit chicks.
The annual clean consists of removing the nesting material and the general dust and cobwebs, and then scalding the box with boiling water to try to kill any parasites that remain inside. Then, after checking the camera, the box is put back in place.
Normally, we then wait until after Christmas before monitoring the nest but this year we had heard that one of the nest boxes that i-Catcher monitors had a roosting bluetit so this year we are leaving the i-Catcher software running so that any visitors to either box will be caught.
Today we had our first visitor!
She looked very like Fantail, with a fairly wide neck band. She looked very smart - her annual moult was clearly over.
This picture was taken soon after she entered the box. I am saying 'she' although at this stage there is no proof that this bird is female. In fact, as can be seen from other pictures taken on this visit, this bird's neck band is wider than that of most females.
However, so was Fantail's and this was her nest. Could she be back for another year?
She then began taking an excessive interest in the camera area. She flew up a couple of times but did not seem to do any damage. If you followed this diary earlier in the year you may remember that Fluffy in Box2 ripped a hole through the cardboard collar and managed to get close to the camera.
The attraction, of course, is the warmth of the camera. At this time of year, the nights are getting distinctly chilly and a nice warm camera to cuddle up to must be quite desirable, even though it is switched off at dusk.
Before she left, our bird spent some time perched on the exit hole looking out into the garden. When I cleaned the box I decided to try installing the camera rotated through 90° from the position in was in last season. As the picture taken by the camera is not square, this enables us to see the exit hole as well as the entire nesting area. This is not apparent from the images shown so far, as they are cropped. However, if a woodpecker comes this year, we should be able to get better pictures of its depredations!
This shows the wooden baffle at the top of the nest box. The plug and cable are used to provide power for the pea bulb screwed into a small bulb holder on the underside of the baffle. The camera is supported beneath the roof apex and views the nest through the cylindrical collar attached to the inside of the hole in the baffle.
If it were complete, this collar would prevent the bluetit accessing the upper roof space as the top of the collar meets up with the structure attached to the roof of the box and which is supporting the camera. However, last year the enterprising Fluffy managed to peck her way through this and gain access to the warm roof space. This year we have replaced the cardboard collar by one made of plastic - we hope she will find this a distinctly tougher proposition.