Bluetit Diary    May 2016 (15)

 

 

Friday 20th May, 2016

At last!  A good view of the eggs in Box1!  And there are 5 of them (at least!)

This means that the first egg must have been laid in the early hours of Monday 16th May when she hadn't even finished the nest!  It is only because she is starting to incubate them that they eggs become visible when she gets off the nest.

Another view of the five eggs.

Back to Box2!

This is the first picture taken after the two day gap in the record.  It shows Bess (broad white band, smart looking!) with 8 chicks and at least three eggs.

Where all the rest of the eggs/chicks went is a mystery!

Another good shot of thee 8 chicks - again with Bess.

Hugh has brought some food to the nest.  With three doting parents looking after only 8 chicks, they are in clover!

When you think that there were at least 18 eggs laid, it makes you wonder what happened to all the rest.

Spikey (the bird at the bottom) passes a little green caterpillar to Bess to give to the chicks.

These two - and Hugh - work together so harmoniously these days that you would think that this was the normal way chicks were brought up!

Well, perhaps not total harmony.  Both females want to brood the chicks!  They end up squabbling about who gets the bottom, favoured position, the other sitting on top of them all.

You can just see the second bird's tail at the bottom left of the picture.