A bluetit on Box2
This time there is not all that hanging about - he goes inside the box pretty quickly.
So what have we here then?
He appears to be pecking at the drain hole in the middle of the box's floor.
He was in the box about three quarters of a minute.
Three quarter of an hour later he is back - or is it another bird?
After nearly two minutes of hesitation he goes in the box.
This one definitely looks like a male bird - you can see from his tousled collar and head feathers. A female is much tidier and smoother here.
Compare the pictures of this bird with the one above. This one is more of a ragamuffin!
You can see his head feathers are streaked with white feathers amongst the blue.
Perhaps he is quite an old bird too!
Interestingly, this bird has an area of fluffiness on his lower left side just like Fluffy used to have in the early part of the season.
Just a coincidence, I'm sure!
And away he goes!
Eight seconds later a bluetit is back on the entrance hole.
This time there's no messing about - two seconds later and it goes inside.
Twenty seconds later, while the original bird is still inside, another bluetit comes to the entrance. Is this a pair or are they competing for ownership of the box?
So here is the inside bird - it looks like the male again to me. Note that it is not displaying - the normal reaction in this situation if the outside bird is not its partner.
And here, at the same instant, is the bird on the outside.
She doesn't stay long though - neither does she go inside too.
It takes him a little while to realise that she has gone.
Yes, definitely the male - and now he is wondering where she is!
So he decides to go too.
And off he goes.
So nothing momentous happened, but it looks as though we have an incipient partnership.