Current Situation in the 3 Nesting Boxes

I have been away for a week ca. and therefore unable to keep up-to-date with events.

When I got back yesterday I found out:

1. In the office nesting box (NB-3) 1 egg had been laid. I presume this was laid in the morning of the 16.04.2011. This morning however, the egg was covered, so I could not see if there are 2 by now.

2. In the large nesting box (NB-1) the Tree Sparrows build a nesting by using a large amount of material...it is pretty amazing actually. They covered the entire surface with nesting material and thus brought the floor to a height which is now about 1-2 cm below the entrance hole. The entrance to the nest itself is on the farside of the box. The nest floor is lower than the surrounding floor and the nest is covered on the top. The inner nest volume thus assumes a spherical shape and 3/4ths of its surface area is covered with material.

3. The Great Tit female with the spot on her head (the one that lost the large nesting box to the Sparrows) has started building a nest in the smaller nesting box (NB-2). I am happy that she has taken up this second nesting box.

Due to the fact that the sparrow nest is so complex, and due to the fact that so much material was carried inside the box, 2 of the 3 cameras are completely covered in material and no longer have optical access to the nest. The 3rd camera mounted on the top has a very reduced optical access (less than 1/4th). Last night we therefore (after sunset) made a blitz modification (ca. 1 hour) to the nesting box and added a 4th camera to the box. The camera is mounted from the outside and allows a partial view of the nest. Although I will probably not be able to see how many eggs will be laid, I will hopefully be able to follow the general developments.

WAR of the Birds....

To my astonishment, the situation changed dramatically yesterday afternoon as a pair of Eurasian Tree Sparrows entered the large nesting box and starting adding nesting material to the already started Great Tit nest.



At around 14:00 the Great Tit female entered the nest whilst a Sparrow was also inside. A fight ensued which was quickly became a fight between all 4 birds. The male Great Tit entered the nest and also attacked the Sparrow.

After a tumoltous fight, the Tits left the nest. A few minutes later, the Tits again entered the nest and again a fight ensued. Again, the Great Tits left the nest.

After a short pause, the Sparrows started, or rather continues building. It thus apeared that the Sparrows had successfully defeated the Great Tits.

Later that evening, I found out that the Sparrows had started building a nest in the second, smaller nesting box. for some reason, the then decided to continue building in the larger box during the noon hours, during which the Great Tit female paused from nest building.

This morning, the fight continued. The Great Tit female entered the nest various times and fixed it without carrying further material inside the nest. It thus appeared that the Great Tits had not given up on the nest.

With both bird pairs perching in the tree next to the box, several disputes were triggered between the two bird pairs. The most interesting aspects of the disputes were that the Sparrows were more united than the Great Tits where the female performed most of the aggressive stances.

The Sparrows entered the box repeatedly whilst the Great Tits were still in the tree and placed themselves such as to block the entrance of the box. Indeed it could have been interpreted as an attempt of the two Sparrows to block the entrance of the box and thus prevent the Tits from entering.

The disputes continued throughtout the morning and into the early afternoon. After that I no longer observed the Great Tits in the tree or in the vicinity of the large nesting box. In the morning, they had briefly examined the smaller box which also triggered a dispute between the two bird species.

I wonder whether the Sparrows have now taken the larger nesting box and will allow other birds to nest in the smaller box or whether their territory extends to include the smaller nesting box. I also wonder whether the Great Tits will again show themselves tomorrow morning, or whether they have moved on to another nesting location.

The female Great Tit had begung building the nest on the 31. of March. What I also noticed was that whilst only the female Great Tit is responsible for nest building, it appears that both Sparrows are involved in nest building.

I wonder, I wonder....

High Temperatures

I am quite amazed...it is only the 3rd of April and we have already experienced temperatures in the upper 20s.



Nest building continues at a slow pace.

Rainy Afternoon

Nest Building Has Begun!

In the new advanced, enlarged, improved, sensor equipped, over-kill, nesting box, nest building have finally started!

The Great Tit female with a spot on her head started carrying nesting material inside the box today.





I must check the other nesting box this evening to see whether "building efforts" are being undertaken in there as well...

In the old nesting box which I now hung outside my office window, a Blue Tit pair is busy doing what ever it is they are doing. The female Blue Tit sometimes carries material to the nest. Most of it is dropped before she enters. She spends much time inside the nest. It appears as though it is her first time and she is not quite sure what she should do hence the nervous moving moss-bits around.

A Twig, the first twig!

Oh dear! I "fear" that the frontal camera will be of fundamental importance this year, hopefully I have placed it at the right position.

Why do I think so?.....have a look...



A TWIG!

and who was responsible?.....none other than...



a Eurasian Tree Sparrow! :-)

New Year, new nesting boxes...new BIRDIES!

I have managed to install one new nesting box so far (one will be installed tomorrow!).

The new nesting box is full of new features:
3 cameras
- 2 are infrared b/w cameras like the one I used last year (but with a 3,6 mm lens instead for an increased field of view!)
- 1 is a colour camera

2 temperature sensors (inside and outside of the box)

1 light intensity sensor which activates and deactivates...

3 LEDs which are on a circuit which can regulate the voltage i.e. the intensity of the LEDs (the LEDs can therefore be automatically turned on during the day and off during the night)



Two cameras are fastened on the "ceiling" of the box, i.e. looking down, while the 3rd camera is installed in the front and looks inside at "bird-eye" level....



So far there have been visits by at least 3 Great Tits: a male...


(the advantage of the frontal camera is that one can see the strips and thus determine if it is a male (wide), or a female (thin))

...a female missing half a leg...



and a female with a white spot on her head



which comes regularly...



and sometimes just hangs in there in the somewhat warmer air..



Some of the close-ups are so good! I installed the frontal camera only later (just in case the sparrows decide to take over and build a nest) and am really happy I did!

One (or two) tree sparrow came in twice and I saw one looking in on Saturday..



but so far the Great Tits have been visiting more frequently.

I took the old nest and installed it just outside my office window. I changed the front plate. The new plate is fitted with a 26 mm hole, i.e. too small for Great Tits. A Blue Tit has shown great interest and today I managed to make a video of it inside...



I sometimes see the Blue Tit busy at fending off other Blue Tits away from the nesting Box. This morning I also "witnessed" a mid-air fight!