Dear Readers, while I was sitting counting my bees today (1 male, 2 females in case you’re interested) I suddenly became aware of the sound of baby birds, and realised that I was sitting probably three metres from a blue tit nest! I haven’t taken any photos or shown any interest in it, because I don’t want to alert the various magpies/cats to their whereabouts, but I could not be more chuffed. Usually they nest in the nest box on next door’s wall, but they have some tarpaulins above it this year, so I think maybe they’ve moved on. At any rate, let’s see how they get on – the nest is tucked up in a tangled mass of honeysuckle so hopefully the nestlings are relatively safe, and they only call when they see a parent approaching. Sensible little things!
And here is a video that I took a while back. All the shouting was occasioned by my ancient cat taking a turn around the patio. They are feisty for sure.
And in the background you can hear the sound of baby starlings, another sure sign of mid May, which is when everyone seems to leave the nest at the same time. Let’s keep our fingers crossed for some of these little chaps. I will keep you posted on developments!
Baby blue tit from 2020
Very exciting indeed!
Lovely to see. I did my own sciencing last year. We have two gnarly, old apple trees with numerous holes suitable for nesting birds. Last year, a great tit family set up home in one of them. We have 3 cats and one was very keen on setting in the tree waiting for birds flying out of the hole. PETA suggested wrapping the tree trunk in aluminium foil. I was sceptical but….. it worked brilliantly. Cats don’t like the feel of it because it is slippery and shiny. It needed to be deep enough so they could not just leap over it. Worked a treat!