Rain over the weekend has invigorated many plants. Plant growth is moving along nicely. Continued visits to our nestbox and the nest inside is moving along nicely too.
Magnolia generously displaying flowers after recently being moved. Clicking on photos will enlarge them.
New growth from a Geum. I love to see plants start anew.
Skimmia blossom opening, Nepata flowers developing, Dandelions, Alliums, Ferns, Red Campion, Drumstick Primula and Wallflower all moving along nicely in my front garden.
Fritillaries, Hellebores, Acers and Primroses moving along nicely in my my more shaded back garden. Brunnera leaves are getting larger each day and soon the narcissi in my lawn will be gone. The Fritillaries there will last a little longer yet. Yep… and cat visits are lasting a little longer now too as birds chatter louder and louder.
Okay, I have to admit Edmund did look rather handsome next to my narcissi. A neighbour’s cat, he does enjoy many sunny spots in my garden. Although he has got competition for these spots from a few other cats including a very young ginger one which is a bit too bold near the bird feeders for my liking.
On Sunday, Edmund did have a lot to see. The rain brought in groups of chattering Siskins to the (newly filled with sunflower heart) feeders. Where on the ground there were lots going on too. Starlings were running around in pairs collecting nesting material. Moving along from this stage Blackbirds are already feeding chicks by the beakfuls of sunflower hearts spotted leaving my garden.
Out of sight from Edmund and other cats our Blue tit female has continued to work on her nest in our camera nestbox. The montage below shows some progress shots starting with Thursday night. Things really are moving along nicely there now.
Let’s take a look at her in action at lunchtime today performing a number of nesting shuffles to form the nestcup of the nest. You can see in the video below that the front of the nest (LHS) is quite thick now and very bouncy.
There is some light background music in the video. The ocassional bright white fill in the picture is when the Blue tit is at the entrance hole and the infra red camera is adjusting to light levels changing.
For those that can’t view the video you can see that this lady is a tad interested in the camera too. She does seem curious about it and can often be seen jumping out of sight towards it. She must be gripping to an edge there somewhere as she then will appear near the entrance hole which is on the LHS of the images.
Mm… now the image below might be a little worrying. This was taken this evening… oh dear she isn’t roosting tonight! Now, I have heard that birds can build more than one nest. Has she built two perhaps?
Sticking my neck out here, I’d say she’ll be back to this one. She has worked hard on it in a short space of time. I’d say she’s in a hurry. Previous nestbox stories from my garden have both had a night with an empty box after the nest build has begun. Here’s hoping she’ll return to roost here again tomorrow night.
Have you any nesting stories you’d like to share? I know I’d like to hear about them. What’s moving along nicely in your garden?
The garden photos above were all taken on April 25th 2010. The nestbox photos have been taken between April 22nd – 26th. The video shown above was taken on April 26th 2010.
What a lot of fun, Shirl. Do you think she hears the hum of the video camera? I hope she does return!
Thanks so much for posting this video of the nesting bird. It is wonderful to see the inside workings of building a nest. So neat! Carla
So much going on in your garden Shirley. Edmund does make a nice looking yard ornament. Fun to see the nesting birds too. A nice nest in the making.Edmund should share some of that fur to line the nest.
Edmund's a handsome fellow–let's hope he's not a handsome devil with the birds. Staying tuned for the next episode on Bird tv!
Brilliant video of the nest building Shirl. No progress at all here so I assume they have chosen a different box. I have seen the odd wasp give it the once over but fortunately they have not started a nest in there.
I'm really loving all these wonderful nature blogs. I have no technical doo dahs just watch it all from my summerhouse but it's great to see the tit building her nest. I hope she comes back. We will wait with baited breath.hawn
Your garden sure is coming along! I wonder if my Geum will ever get as spread out as yours?
Your Siskins look very different from the Pine Siskins that visit us.
I hope your bird keeps working on her nest, it's just fascinating to watch.
Hello everyone, sorry my replies have been so long. I hope you’ve all had a good week 😀
Shady, it certainly is fun. You can never predict how it will turn out either. I was pretty sure this nest was going all the way too. It’s a great pity that this story has now ended. No, I doubt she heard any noise from the camera. It is pretty small. It isn’t on all the time either. I only have it on when I am watching live… admittedly that can be a few hours at a time if I am working on the PC. Now… I do have another story for you 😀
Carla, you are most welcome! I agree, it is brilliant to be able to see this work being done. She didn’t return. Pity it came to an end so soon… it really looked promising. However… 😀
Lisa, gosh you can certainly say that! Ups and downs… and that’s not even talking about my pond… really need to get back to it. Time has been short for gardening 🙁 The nest did look good Lisa, sadly it went no further. Now, Edmund’s fur would make a wonderful last soft layer for the nest cup 😀
Charlotte, He certainly is when he sits like that. He looks like he is the keeper of my garden… day and night! Well, I have to report that he does ‘view’ the bird feeders. However, he is by no means the most menacing. Sorry…. This channel of bird TV has had its season ending. However… stay tuned 😀
John, yes I thought so too. A great pity here too that this bird has finally chosen another box too. I really was pretty sure this one would have been completed. It just goes to show how material going in a nestbox isn’t a certainty for eggs and chicks. Sorry to hear you’ve had no progress with birds but great news on your hedgehog house 😀
Gerry, nice to see you again 🙂 It is still great to watch from a distance too hearing from the outside what is going on. We could only listen last year to the chirping chicks as we walked below a nestbox. It always made me smile. Aw… the wait is over for this nestbox. However 😀
Catherine, lol it is perhaps coming on too well… I need to get out there and do some work. I really do expect your geum will bulk up. I have to confess to lift ing dividing mine rather a lot in the first few years giving the carpet we have now. Yes, there are differences in some of our same named birds. Sorry, disappointing news on this nestbox. She didn’t return. There have been a lot of territory struggles in the garden with all the species including the Blue tits. However, some birds are more strong willed than others 😀