Ros and I did a lot of work today in the garden and I was concerned about the disruptive influence on our nesting Blue-tits. No sign of them whilst we were at work. 10 minutes after we came indoors the female appeared with a beak full of nesting material and disappeared into the nest box. The next hour or so saw a flurry of activity as she worked too and fro with more nesting material, some of it larger than her! She often struggled to push items through the nest box hole but always accomplished the task after several attempts.
I have heard instances of Blue-tits nest building in nest boxes and then abandoning the project before egg laying. I hope that won't be the case with our birds.
Their clutch size is the largest among nidicolous species, laying typically 10 to 12 eggs. The eggs are laid at such a time that green caterpillars will be abundant when the chicks hatch. Second clutches are rare.
We have pretty much finished our garden work so I will be keeping a keen eye on events. Nest building usually takes about two weeks by the female and she has been at it now for eight days. Fingers crossed then that she completes her nest building and lays her eggs. The male bird is a constant companion although he doesn't do much! His work will start when she incubates the eggs; he will have to feed her.
Watch this space for further news...
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