This is Zoe again. Will she continue cleaning up the nest box?
Day 2 of Operation Cleanup!
She is an elegant bird. No wonder the boys are fighting over her!
It's down to business straight away.
Look at how smooth the feathers on the top of her head are. Later you will see how this differs from the head feathers of a male bluetit.
An hour and a quarter later and she's looking pretty pleased with herself. As well she might!
Here are some statistics for you. During her busy period, Zoe was removing one pellet on average every 20 seconds. Her shortest time in the box collecting was 2 seconds and the shortest time before she was back was 5 seconds. How about that for dedication!
Another picture of Zoe at lunch time.
Again, how smooth her head feathers look.
This is a male - probably Will. His head feathers look quite different - more masculine perhaps?
A male's head feathers are streaked from his beak to the back of his head. As time passes, these feathers will be further streaked with white - it's the strain of being a Dad you know! (Actually, I believe it's hormonal as males often lose some of their head feathers and occasionally become
Another view of Will.
Will is a very sturdy bluetit. Look at his neck and shoulders - they look broad and strong. Harry is quite a lightweight male by comparison.
This is the nest box floor at the end of the day - Zoe has now removed almost all of Harry's droppings.
She will have to keep this up though for as long as he roosts in the box overnight, he will leave droppings behind to remind Zoe of him.