Day 47 - Tuesday 26th May 2015

Day 46 - Monday 25th May 2015

Nearly ready to leave the box, but hopefully they will stay another day.

Plenty of Magpies on the prowl as there are a lot of young fledgelings in the garden.

A Sparrowhawk was seen early this evening, so best stay tucked up inside the nest box boys.

Day 45 - Sunday 24th May 2015

Another beautiful day here in South East London, and Fred and chicks have been busy since 0500 this morning.  Fred seems remarkably strong despite the pressure he has been under since losing Freda.

The last couple of days he has displayed an aggressive streak at the feeding stations, chasing off Goldfinches and Sparrows if they were on the feeders he wanted to visit.  The fatherly instinct in him has really come to the fore, so once the chicks leave the box we're confident he will be doing his utmost to look after them.

More later....

Day 44 - Saturday 23rd May 2015

There's lots of wing stretching and moving about in the nest box this morning, which is a sure sign that the chicks are nearly ready to leave the box.

Fred has been in and out since 5.20 this morning, his usual time and everybody is doing fine.

Lots of garden activity today, with the Robins and Blackbirds taking away more mealworms, we think they both have second broods.

Fred and the chicks have another good day.

Day 43 - Friday 22nd May 2015

Fred has managed another great day today, and the chicks are all beginning to spread their wings literally.

Lots of movement in the nest box, and one of the chicks is gingerly making his way towards the entrance hole.

Proud Father

Day 42 - Thursday 21st May 2015

For some reason the chicks decided to move out of sight of the camera late today, and it was difficult to see what was happening. Perhaps I should pay them a bit more to stay in focus.

It looked for some time as though there were only two chicks but, at 8 o'clock tonight all three of them appeared on camera. Phew!  We don't really want anything going wrong having come so far with only one parent.  They are certainly turning into three little characters.

Fred is still looking very strong, having started work just after 5am this morning, and is still going strong as I type this at 20.00

I will try and get an outside camera rigged up over the weekend and see if we can record them leaving the box from the outside.

Day 41 - Wednesday 20th May 2015

Another early start for Fred.  It's nice and sunny here in the South East and we live to fight another day.

Go Fred and the chicks!

Its just gone 7pm and it's nice and sunny. Fred has been busy all day long feeding the last 3 chicks.  Their eyes are now open eagerly await Fred's arrival with food.  

There's some wing stretching and flapping going on, which all indicates that there's only about 6 or 7 days left before they will want to venture out into the big wide world.  
 

All together now!

Day 40 - Tuesday 19th May 2015

Fred arrived at 0510 this morning with fresh food.  He spent some time trying to remove the dead chicks from the box.  He's trying to keep the nest box environment clean and tidy.

Day 39 - Monday 18th May 2015

Another good day for Fred and the three remaining chicks.  Although it started off wet here in the South East, the afternoon turned very warm and Fred was able to satisfy the appetites of those left in the box.

All credit to Fred, he's been working extremely hard to vary the food, including sunflower hearts, suet and caterpillars.

He even struggled last night to try and remove the bodies of the some of the dead chicks, but unfortunately the size of the hole in the box thwarted his attempts.

If it carries on as well as this, we should be on target for Bank Holiday Monday for the chicks to start thinking about leaving the box.

Their eyes are almost open, so it will be fun and games when they are.

Fred's shift today was 05.20 - 20.10 - 15 hours visiting with food approximately every three minutes.

Day 38 - Sunday 17th May 2015

Just three chicks left now.  One of them looks very much like a punk so we've named him Sid Snot.  The other two are Sansom and Gobby.  All chicks are very alert each time Fred comes back with food, so barring no mishaps with Fred we'll keep our fingers crossed.

Fred's first visit was at 05.02am this morning with some caterpillars.  He is still visiting with food at approximately two minute intervals.  A very daunting task.

We have also had a Greater Spotted Woodpecker in the garden recently, and although we generally welcome all birds, unfortunately he's not welcome at the moment.  They have a habit of destroying nest boxes and taking chicks, so we've moved the one feeder that attracts him to the other end of the garden, right away from the nest box.

Fred has enough on his plate at the moment, without any further distractions.

Day 37 - Saturday 16th May 2015

You've got to take your hat off to Fred, he's doing a grand job feeding the chicks on his own.

Last night he didn't stay in the box, which on reflection was probably a good thing for him as it meant that he would get a good nights rest in the trees elsewhere.  The chicks don't appear to be any worse off for it, and by 0520 this morning he was back fresh and bright with some juicy caterpillars for the young ones.

All this drama this week inevitably means we have had some casualties. After checking the nest box thoroughly today we can only see three chicks popping up each time Fred visits.  It was to be expected.

Of the three who are left, one of them is looking surprisingly strong and is continually trying to get out of the nest cup.  Hopefully he won't succeed just yet as the other two will help to keep him warm while they are all together.

We anticipate that Fred may have to keep this up for another week, and if there are still chicks left by next weekend they will be at the wing flapping stage, and ready to leave by about the Bank Holiday Monday.  We really hope so, as it will be a great tribute to Fred's tenacity.

I've done some research on this, and losing one parent is not uncommon, and broods have been raised successfully by single parents, but at a cost obviously.

If Fred can pull this off, we will give him one of the best chippy suppers money can buy and thrown in some curry sauce too.

 

Three remaining chicks

More later.....

Day 36 - Friday May 15th 2015

Freda didn't return at all yesterday, so we will have to consider her gone for whatever reason.

On the positive side, Fred worked hard all day bringing food to the chicks. Starting at just after 0600 and finishing just after 2000, and then to the amazement of everybody he settled down in the next box.

This is something usually only the female will do at night, but Fred is clearly a good parent.

He has already started feeding at 0520 this morning, so we'll see how the day pans out.

15:00 update.
Fred has been steadily backwards and forwards all day so far, and although he appears a bit bedraggled is doing a marvellous job.

The chicks eyes will soon be open, and they are starting to acquire a feather down to cover them.  This will be a great help especially at night when it's cold. We can only see four chicks each time Fred arrives, but we'll try and have a good count over the weekend.  Considering the circumstances it's going fairly well.

Fred's job over the next week or so will become more and more demanding, and we anticipate if he can keep up the pace that wings will start to flutter around 20th/21st May, and those who are left should leave the nest round about the May Bank holiday on 25th.

If we can get one to leave the nest safely this can be considered as a result.

Day 35 - Thursday 14th May 2015

Freda didn't return to the nest last night, and we fear we may have lost her.

She left about 8.30 and by darkness there was no sign of her.

Fred has returned this morning and is trying to feed the chicks, but without Freda he has an impossible task.

That's nature I'm afraid.

Day 33 - Tuesday 12th May 2015

Another busy day all round. Nice and sunny and plenty of food going in through the nestbox hole.

Day 34 - Wednesday 13th May 2015

Found a Woodpecker on the feeders this morning, and although they are usually quite welcome in the garden I had to chase this one away.  He was on the fat feeder which Fred and Freda are using to feed the chicks, and he presents a danger to the nest box as well.

Come back later Woody.

Day 32 - Monday 11th May 2015

The temperature is nice and warm here in the South East today.  The parents have been steadily feeding their chicks since 05.40am this morning.

We can see at least 7 chicks in the nest cup, and they are beginning to get their downy coat before their feathers start to appear.

They are being fed a mixture of smaller caterpillars, worms and quite a bit of the suet ball hanging in the garden, much to the annoyance of the local starling population.

They all seem to be coping well.

The chicks have almost doubled in size in the short time since they hatched.  Mum and Dad are doing a tremendous job.

Day 31 - Sunday 10th May 2015

Well, it's been a very hot day in South East London, and Fred and Freda have certainly had their work cut out feeding the ever demanding chicks.

We can see at least six constantly popping their heads up each time there's a visit from the parents. 

Fred and Freda are beginning to feel the strain a little, and Freda especially is looking a big ragged, but nevertheless they are both up for the challenge of raising their brood.

Day 30 - Saturday 9th May 2015

Here's a short video of Fred and Freda as they fed the chicks last night.  The worm they had brought in was too big so between them they managed to make it into manageable pieces for the chicks.

Teamwork at its best!

Day 29 - Friday 8th May 2015

Another day comes to a close and Fred and Freda have been admirable parents today. Each time Fred arrives with food he dutifully hands it to Freda to give to the chicks, a sort of quality control that appears to be.

He came back tonight with a rather large worm which took several goes before the chick could deal with it.

There was some fascinating footage today, and tomorrow I'll put a short video together of what went on.

Day 28 - Thursday 7th May 2015

Well, what a busy day for Fred and Freda.   I can't see the remaining egg today so I must assume that it hatched and Freda got rid of the evidence!

The overhead camera unfortunately is about to go off, but I can make out at least 7 chicks there.

I'll leave the side camera on as you can quite clearly see the chicks popping their heads up for head each time one of the parents arrives.   They are all in for a challenging few weeks until the chicks are ready to fledge. 

Day 27 - Wednesday 6th May 2015

At 5.40 this morning the first of the eggs started to hatch.  All day long Fred and Freda have been feeding the chicks as they hatch, and disposing of the egg shells by eating them.  This gives the birds some calcium and also does not give away the nest site.

The real work now begins for Fred and Freda, who will make up to 800 visits per day while the chicks grow and demand more and more food over the next couple of weeks.  The fledging time will be in approximately 14 days.

Day 26 - Tuesday 5th May 2015

Could this be the day?  We hope so, Freda is very restless but at least Fred is visiting more often now with food.

No sign of any chicks just yet.

Perhaps tomorrow.

Day 25 - Monday 4th May 2014

Day 12 of incubation and Freda is getting quite restless now, she is constantly shifting round on the eggs and turning them.  I don't think it's long now before we hear the patter of tiny feet in the nest box.

Day 24 - Sunday 3rd May 2015

A wet and overcast Sunday morning in South East London.  Fred has been with breakfast for Freda 4 or 5 times so far this morning, and she's been out and stretched her wings.

The Robin brought one of his chicks to the garden about 9am, and was fortunate enough to have the meal worm bowl all to themselves.  At least they'll have a good start to the day.

Day 23 - Saturday 2nd May 2015

Fred has upped his game today and has brought food for Freda at least four times before 7am this morning.  Offerings of small mealworms and caterpillars were on the menu, all gratefully taken by Freda.

We're about to enter the next phase of family life, and anticipate the first chick to hatch in the next few days.  When this happens I'll turn the video stream on.

Day 22 - Friday 1st May 2015

Fred was busy feeding Freda today, but it didn't look as if he was bringing enough food for her.  She has reprimanded him. 

Day 21 - Thursday 30th April 2015

More incubating taking place. Regular turning of the eggs. 

Day 20 - Wednesday 29th April 2015

And another quiet day for Freda, sitting comfortably on the eggs.  Fred is still continuing to feed her as she spends more time on the eggs.  She is constantly turning them now.

Day 19 - Tuesday 28th April 2015

A beautiful start to the day here in South East London, not a cloud in the sky but a bit chilly.  Freda has already been out for breakfast this morning. 

Day 18 - Monday 27th April 2015

Well, another day and all is well. Freda has spent most of the day incubating, while Fred is spending more time popping in and out the box feeding her.

At least the weather is staying settled and no real rain to bother the pair.  There is plenty of activity near the box, with Robins and Sparrows in the Pear tree next door, but the couple of are taking this in their stride.

We now have two Robins arriving every time the back door opens in the hope of a feed.   They are not disappointed!

Day 17 - Sunday 26th April 2015

A bit of a miserable day today in South East London, so perhaps a good time for staying in.  Freda is very comfortable incubating her nine eggs, Fred has been visiting with food, and she's been out to stretch her wings a few times so far today.

Day 16 - Saturday 25th April 2015

Incubation is well under way now with Freda spending most of her time on the eggs, and Fred is popping in and out like a dutiful husband with titbits including small caterpillars, worms and pieces of sunflower seed.

It looks like we've settled for nine eggs, and I don't think she will lay any more now. Incubation time is approximately 12 days, so we could be on schedule for May 4/5th for the first chick.

Once we see that we'll turn on the live stream.

There has been quite a food fest in our garden today, with regular visits from a pair or Robins and Blackbirds.

Day 15 - Friday 24th April 2015

Into the third week and we have NINE eggs in the nest that we can see.  Freda is definitely incubating now and we anticipate that around the first Bank Holiday week in May 4th or 5th we may see some hatching taking place.

This will be going into a critical phase now as Blue Tits are renowned for having large broods as the survival rate is fairly low.  A good expectation from nine eggs would be 2 or 3 chicks making it through to adulthood. 

Day 14 - Thursday 23rd April 2015

NINE eggs in the nest now covered by a single feather at the moment!  Unfortunately, some of the light nesting material has made it's way in front of the lens of the camera.  Hopefully when the movement starts this will disappear.

Update at 18:00 it's gone.  Normal vision is restored.

Day 13 - Wednesday 22nd April 2015

We now have 8 eggs in the nest, so it looks like Freda has been busy over the past few days despite appearances.

Looks like Freda is now settling down on the eggs, Fred has been popping in to feed from time to time.

Day 12 - Tuesday 21st April 2015

Another quiet shift for Freda, with a few more feathers for the nest, one of which obscured the camera for some time.  I think these few days are the lull before the storm.

Watch this space!

Day 11 - Monday 20th April 2015

Not much to report today. A few comings and going from Freda and a bit more hair put on the nest.  She's hidden the eggs very well when she goes out.

Day 10 - Sunday 19th April 2015

Well, Freda's behaviour has certainly changed over the last 2 or 3 days, and we had an inkling we knew why.  She has been very meticulous when leaving the nest to make sure the nest is prim and proper and also when she returns there is more than the usual activity.

Well, this morning we discovered that she has been a clever little girl, and if you look to the top left of the nest cup you will see 5 eggs.  These have been laid since I put the picture up at 14:01 yesterday.

At this stage we're not sure how many more are to come, as Blue Tit's can lay up to 12 eggs in one go.  Incubation will only start when Freda is ready so there is no need to worry about the condition of these 5 eggs while she is not there.  We fully expect she will add to this tally today, and hopefully in view of the top camera.

Apologies again for the quality of these pictures, however, next year's box is in the planning department with two higher grade cameras and some lighting.

Fred paid a visit to bring Freda some food today.

18:07.  I was informed today that Blue Tits only lay one egg per day, so Freda has been hiding them well over the past week.  Let's see what happens tonight.

Day 9 - Saturday 18th April 2015

Here is a picture of the nest building so far.  The fluffy bits in the foreground are mine and Janet's hair we left in the garden after we last had a haircut.  (The grey bits!)

When I positioned the camera, I allowed 5 centimetres for the height of the nest , and I hope she doesn't build it much higher and obscure the view.  She has, unfortunately, built the cup of the nest slightly off centre in the box which means the overhead camera cannot quite see when the eggs are laid.  But, every cloud has a silver lining, and this means the chick activity will be right in front of the horizontal camera.

Horizontal camera.

Below is the overhead camera picture, and the dip in the top left is where she has made the cup of the nest.

An early night once again for Freda, turning in at 19:20.

Day 8 - Friday 17th April 2015

Day 8 - A little chilly today for our girl, and she's spent a lot of time away from the next.
The garden has been busy tho' with the Blackbird on feeding duties for his young, and a large crow trying to get to the meal worms.  We managed to get rid of him .

Freda was settled down on her nest early tonight at 19:20.

Let's see what the weekend brings.

Day 7 - Thursday 16th April 2015

A slightly colder day to day than it was yesterday, and only a small amount of nest building taking place today.

The Blackbird has been very busy all day cramming as many meal-worms as he can carry back to the nest. The Blackbird chicks are certainly getting a good start to ilfe.

Freda was roosting in the nestbox by 19:40 tonight.

Day 6 - Wednesday 15th April 2015

Freda had a lay in this morning and didn't leave the nest until 06:08.
On what was the warmest day of the year so far, just a little more nest building took place, while the Blackbird managed to gather as many mealworms as he could fit into his beak and take back to his nest three gardens away.

They've been feeding chicks for over a week now, so it looks like a good start for them.

Freda tucked up at 19:45 tonight.

Day 5 - Tuesday 14th April 2015

Another quiet day in the box. Not much coming and going just a few more feathers and hair clippings.  Fred's been keeping an eye on things.  There appears to have been a Woodpecker in the garden today, devastating the Squirrel feeder, but don't seem to have bothered our two guests.

Tucked up safely now at 20.00

Day 4 - Monday 13th April 2015

Freda was awake and up and out by 05.51a.m. this morning, bringing back some small clippings of hair from the garden.

A bit more nest building today, a few feathers were brought in, although she spent a fair time away from the nest today.

What are you looking at ?

She's all settled for the evening now at 19.40.  

Day 3 - Sunday 12th April 2015

Freda spent another night in the box sleeping, and was up and away early at 5.20a.m. and didn't return untul 07.20 with some more hair clippings and grass.  Nest building continues but she looks like she's nearly finished, just a few final touches to make sure everything is cosy and secure. Fred is keeping a watchful on her from a distance.

19:00
It's been a quiet day on the nest building front and it looks as if Freda is happy with the what she has built so far.  She has left the nest box for long periods today and has been with Fred flitting between gardens, probably enjoying a Sunday rest and some good food.

Freda retired to the nest box at 19:40 tonight escorted by Fred into the Pear tree.  He waited for a few minutes before flying off towards the park.

Another successful day.

Day 2 - Saturday 11th April 2015

Freda spent last night comfortably sleeping in the nest box, and was rudely awaked by Fred at 5.40 this morning.  Deciding to ignore him, she turned over and had another 20 minutes kip, before leaving the box just after 6a.m.

She's been back a few times with nesting material, but its raining now so house building has come to a stop for a while.

The sun eventually came out for a beautiful afternoon in South London and Freda made the most of it with some more nest building.

I'm a bit concerned that she's coming dangerously close to the level I predicted for the nest and if she's goes much higher it might obscure the horizontal camera.  She seems also to be making the cup of the nest off centre of the nest box and almost under the horizontal camera, which may be a blessing in disguise as the overhead camera is struggling a little.  We'll see what happens as I'm hoping the nest will settle a little once there is some activity.  Carry on Freda.

And so, after another busy day, off to bed.

Day 1 - Friday 10th April 2015

It was just before 6a.m. on Friday 10th April, I got for a cup of tea went downstairs and opened the back door, when I was confronted with the shrill cry of a Blue Tit high up in next door's Pear tree.

I instantly recognized what she was saying, 'GO BACK IN AND SHUT THE DOOR -  NOW!'

I duly obliged, and went upstairs and switched on the cameras to the nest box and lo and behold there I saw the nest which was about 5 days old.

We had been away for Easter so the garden was relatively quiet and Freda had obviously been eyeing up the box and found it to be suitable, and got on with the task of nest building.

The nest so far is made up of dry grass, feathers, moss and some hair clippings which we left out after my last haircut. These are always gratefully received for nest building.

Video Page

This page will show the latest video activity in the nestbox.  I will update it when something interesting occurs.

Welcome Page

Welcome to BirdWatch2015

Several years ago I built the bird box below with two cameras inside to record the nesting activity of any birds who chose to use it.  Unfortunately, our garden was a haven for cats which lead to quite a few years without any success in the box.

Now, we are virtually cat free and this year it looks like we may be successful in gaining an occupier to make a home for their new born.

The box is a converted Sparrow's box which could house three families.  I modified it to house the camera equipment, which is a tubular CCD camera taking the side on views from opposite the entrance hole, with an InfraRed CCD pointing downwards, hopefully, above where the nest will be.

The cameras go into an audio/video switch which in turn feeds to the graphics card in my PC. The software used is i-Catcher v3.2., which will trigger whenever there is movement in front of the cameras.  The quality will be fairly low due to the lighting conditions and Infrared lights. Unfortunately I don't have the resources of BBC Springwatch.

I will swap the views occasionally depending on how things progress.  I will also run a live video stream once things start to occur.

If all goes well, expect to see some chicks leaving around the last week in May, but please be aware it's not Disney and things do sometimes go wrong.  Fingers crossed tho'.

JnJ