Bluetit Diary    Jan 2005 (2)

Box1 has its visitors too.  The nesting material you can see here is from last year as this nest was deserted by the female just as she completed the nest.  I have had a look inside the nest box and the material is clean and dry, but I think I should remove it anyway ready for a new year.

Some people argue that bluetits that find their own nest sites will almost certainly use sites that have been used before.  However, you cannot contest the fact that removing the old nesting material and scalding the inside of the nest box improves the chance that the nest will be parasite free.

Just after mid-day I saw this bluetit having a look around.  Having made the point earlier that most bluetits look very much alike, along comes one that is rather different.  It reminds us of Flash who was Fluffy's partner in 2003.  He had the most ugly facial feathers that I can remember, and this bird runs him pretty close.

Could this be one of Flash and Fluffy's chicks that has inherited this from Flash?

Another view of the same bird.  Compare this with the images on the previous page to see how odd this bird's head feathers are.