Bluetit Diary    Apr 2006 (4)

 

 

Saturday 8th April, 2006

We have decided to call the great tits Claire, after a friend of Elizabeth's who now lives in France, and Sam.  Sam's name is due to rather a loose connection.  One of the books I was most impressed by in 2005 was Claire Tomalin's Samuel Pepys - so the male is called Sam.

This is the first of yesterday's pictures ....

... and this is the last - so significant progress has been made. 

Nothing much seems to have happened since we switched off yesterday.  Here we have Claire coming in empty beaked.  The time is 9:59am

She does a bit of nest wriggling ...

... a bit of wall pecking ...

... flies up to check the camera ...

... and spends some time just watching the world go by.

This does not seem like a girl in a hurry!

Anybody who has read our great tits behaviour from last year will remember the desperate state the couple were in when they finally were let into the box by my making the hole larger.  This year is not like that at all!

Suddenly, I realise that Claire has quietened down and is keeping close to the bottom of the box - a typical defensive posture.

Then we realise the reason why.  There is a bluetit on the roof of the box.

A couple of minutes later and he's back - and this time he goes to the entrance hole!

This looks like the male to me - his head feathers are erect and I feel he would probably be the one of the pair to check out any nesting site.

Just look at those head feathers! 

Still, a bluetit would be no match for a great tit so there is nothing he can do but go away again - which in due course he does.

It takes a little while for Claire to realise that the threat has gone! ...

... and then she indulges in a little more bed turning ...

... and wall pecking.  Life quickly returns to normal.