Bluetit Diary    Apr 2005 (26)

 

 

Friday 15th April, 2005

Babe had a nasty shock today - or was it just a normal part of a great tit's nesting scenario?

It all started at about half past eleven, when a starling decided to investigate Box1 again.  Perhaps it had noticed that the entrance hole looked bigger?

It perched on the top and had a good look around.

Suddenly, in charged Babe, chasing the starling away.

All these pictures were taken less than a second apart and it was this one that alerted me to the fact that something odd was happening.  This was not Babe's normal approach to her nest box!

As she entered the box, the starling must have circled round and approached the entrance hole again.

This must have looked pretty fearsome from inside, but it interesting to see that the starling did not perch on the entrance hole at all during this sequence.

At the same time as the picture above was taken, Babe was displaying from inside the box.

Her wing feathers were continually on the go, being raised or lowered according to the threat that the starling presented.