Blue Tit box update.

The two nest boxes with cameras are now both fixed to the recorder, although I will only monitor one at a time when it is set to video.

The box in the Birch Tree is being visited regularly, especially in the mornings. Quite often two birds pop in at the same time. So far they haven't hung around for long and there's no sign of any nest building yet. I hope that they will maintain their interest in this box.

The box in the Ash outside my study also has had quite a bit of attention, but until today it wasn't fitted to the recorder and we've just watched the comings and goings on the TV in the kitchen. Today I extended the cabling and fitted it to the recorder. Each day for the last week or so we've watched a Blue Tit settle down for a nights rest in this box. I did try today to get a picture of it arriving at the box before it entered, but I wasn't fast enough. At 17.34 hrs I saw it flying down the garden towards the box, and it went straight in, hardly touching the sides! Once inside it did spend a bit of time tidying itself up and doing a bit of preening, but it wasn't a very comprehensive grooming.

When it arrived at the box it was a sleek individual, just as you see them in their normal activities. Almost as soon as it entered the box and certainly as it preened it started to fluff up it's feathers. By the time it settled to sleep, just four minutes after it arrived, it was a ball of fluff, so much so that it is hard to tell where it has tucked it's head. It's a shame that he doesn't keep his quarters very clean. I feel as if I need to take the front of and give it a clean and vacuum while it's out, but that might disturb it.