Buzzing with Energy

...in Nesting box #1 calm moments are interrupted by energy bursts...



(I apologise for the background noise...this is not the normal software I use to record with but it allows me to record and post immediately, rather than wait, postprocess, cut,....!)

Feathers...

It is so difficult to count the mouths. This morning I thought I had seen only 7 and was sad for the smallest one, which I thought had not made it. Now I count 8 mouths, so either there were 9 before or 8 all the time....I guess we will find out by counting the eggs left once all the small ones have left the nest in ca. 2 weeks. At any rate...here are two videos from this morning...





Tomorrow, the oldest 3 will be one week old, and if I read correctly, their eyes should open.

Sleeping Tight...

Both mothers are sleeping tight...

Nesting box #1:



Nesting box #2:



...well actually , in nesting box #1 sleeping is not that easy when sitting on 8 hatchlings which seldom stay put!!

Oh!!!!!

Whilst in the first nesting box the hatchlings are growing steadily and have now sprouted small tiny feathers (I will post an image later)....nesting box #2 has also seen drammatic changes occuring in it....



An egg!!!!!!!!

A Great Tit Pair had started showing interest in the 2nd nesting box ca. 1 week ago and I had seen a female carrying nesting material inside the box. I however thought that she might have lost interest in the box as she did show considerable interest in nesting box #1 and its content. I have seen her linger around in the garden and also frequently saw her mate hopping about on the roof of nesting box #2 (I thought he might be trying to attract her attention back to their originally nesting location).

I unfortunately do not have the equipment to save both video streams so I am afraid nesting box #2 will have to wait another 2 weeks ca. By then the hatchlings of box #1 should be ready to explore the world and the second female Great Tit will have ca. another week and a half to go of brooding. I am excited and hope that all goes well!

I will check later to see if the second female will sleep on her first egg just as the first female did.

Sun Protection: Roof

As already mentioned, I added a small roof to avoid sun directly hitting the nesting box. I read a very interesting paper about the temperature which hatchlings can cope with as a function of age (3, 6,,...days old) and of number (3, 6, ... hatchlings). To avoid the temperature rising too much (the sun shines onto the nesting box between 12:30 and 16:15 pm. ca.), I constructed the roof and mounted it in what was a race against time or rather against the weather. I was totally nackered but happy when finally last night I could admire my work.



Some people were concerned that the birds would not like me moving around the box...well mother bird was sitting in the nesting box whilst I was working outside...

Parent Flight Upon Leaving the Nesting Box

The picture I posted on the 25th, arose some attention, so I thought I should post the other pictures I took of the same kind: female and male bird leaving the nesting box...


















I hope you enjoy these pictures just as much as I enjoyed taking them....oh and please note that this was not my only entry today (in case you just popped in) I finally posted videos of the young hatchlings!

Videos of Hatchlings

After two days of unbearable heat...it started raining last night and today it continues to do so. I have come home early do get something done (I will be posting about this later).

I have taken the time to do some video cutting....so here we are....



The first bird hatched at ca. 16:16. The mother was sitting in the neating box but not on the eggs as it was already quite hot. Suddenly she hears a noise and turns around to find a cracked egg...and moves closer to the eggs, helps the hatchling and then eats the egg shell....



The father visited only the morning after and began bringing in food for the little ones...

Leaving Nest With Egg Shell

The female eats some of the half-shells and carries the other out of the nest...



(click on image for an enlargement)

Hatched!!!! :-)))

Yesterday, Sunday May 23. 2010 at ca. 16:20 the first egg hatched....circa three hours later 2 more hatched, during the night 2 more...



now of the 11 eggs only 3 remain intact...



it is getting increasingly difficutl to do a head-count....the little bodies move but are all close to one another and only when the mother or father call with their special call with a little worm in their beaks do all beaks fly open....so far no sounds are discernible, but hopefully soon all 11 will be fit and hungry.

Mother and father are taking good care of the "babies"...it is really moving...





I will try to post a video...but it is really difficult to leave the garden....I am doing some active nesting box cooling due to the really high temperatures (ca. 30 degrees)...under the ages of 4 days, the newborn have no way of actively adjusting their own body temperature and both too hot or too cold must be avoided....