On 7 October a Blue Tit spent the night in the box. Maybe this bird will be our lodger for the winter.
The first eggs hatched on 1 May and the hard work of feeding the brood has started. Only one parent bird has been seen at the moment - we hope the other is about, because a single parent will struggle to keep up with the feeding. UPDATE: 6 May - both parents are now feeding the chicks. It is difficult to count them, but we think there are nine chicks at the moment. UPDATE: 19 May - over the last couple of days some of the smaller chicks have died, leaving five strong and healthy fledglings. At about 10:30am today all five left the box (the smallest took a bit of persuasion), and could be seen sitting on a neaby hedge being fed by the parents.
The nest is looking good, and a little more material is added each day. With any luck we will see a clutch of eggs by the end of the month. UPDATE: 17 April - there are at least three eggs in the nest now, no doubt more will follow soon. UPDATE: 27 April - there are 10 eggs now, and no new arrivals for a few days. Now watching for the first one to hatch.
Nesting began on 24th March - we're hoping this means we'll see a brood of chicks this spring.
Our Blue Tit is still with us, arriving at dusk and leaving at dawn each day.
After a spell of snow and freezing cold weather, on 28 December a Blue Tit was seen inspecting the box and it has now spent two nights in there. We're hoping this one will stay with us, and maybe produce some chicks in the spring.
After spending every night in the box over the winter, on the evening of 2 March 2010 our Blue Tit failed to appear. Whether the bird has moved elsewhere or come to a sad end we'll never know, but there is a month to go before the nesting season so we're hoping there's time for another tenant to move in.
4 November 2009 - we have a Blue Tit in residence again.
In the spring of 2009 a pair of Blue Tits raised their brood in our webcam-equipped birdbox. The birds left in June 2009, and since then the box has been cleaned out and moved to a position where we hope it will be a bit more sheltered from the sun - we think it got a bit too hot in there last summer.
We've been checking the box every day for the last few weeks, and on the evening of 4 November a Blue Tit moved in. We have no idea whether it is the same bird as before, but we are hoping it stays around.
If previous experience is anything to go by, our guest will arrive at the box at sunset each day and stay till dawn. The picture above will be updated every half-hour (refresh this page to see the latest image), so you can see whether there is anyone home. If not, you can click here to see a collection of webcam images taken from the arrival of the first Blue Tit in January 2009 up to 1st June when the chicks flew.