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Science/nature/environment

Update on our baby tits [sad] [smile]

(21 Posts)
Sheena Sat 30-May-15 10:31:18

Having watched seven chicks hatch from the eight eggs Mummy Tit laid, so sad to see that several have now died...but the good news is that we can see three definitely fit and healthy, hungry and huge fledglings !

We are not sure if maybe a couple of the babies have fledged already, as there have been two sad little dead ones in the nest..but the parent tits are so clever...we watched one of them removing a little body and then drop it in the garden. Sounds gruesome, but that's nature I guess. I suppose as they lay so many eggs it's inevitable that not all will survive....it is survival of the fittest and biggest isn't it?

We have everything crossed that the three remaining babies make it out into the big wide world, and it has been fascinating and so charming to watch this little family flowers .

loopylou Sat 30-May-15 13:42:43

Definitely survival of the fittest in nature, as sad as that can be. Even if those little ones had fledged the chances are they wouldn't have survived to adulthood because they were weaker from the start.

Very much hope the remaining three all fledge!

hildajenniJ Sat 30-May-15 13:59:57

When I was still living in my parents house we had a nest box in the garden. Blue tits nested in it every summer. On a rather warm day I had left my bedroom window open. The fledglings decided to fly the nest and flew straight up and into my bedroom. They all managed to find their way out again. smile

Jomarie Sat 30-May-15 14:36:53

Thanks for the update Sheena - I guess three out of seven in the natural world is pretty good but I'm no expert. Fingers crossed all goes well for the triplets!! smile

Galen Sat 30-May-15 15:09:37

I seem to have three baby great its o from one brood and one from a second ( younger) brood. Two bluetit chicks and heaven knows has many robins, I think I've two families.

loopylou Sat 30-May-15 16:37:56

Not a single baby dicky bird to be seen in my garden sad nor many adults (other than sodding magpies and crows) since sparrow hawk in the vicinity, I'm really quite upset.

Our nesting boxes are empty (had wrens last year), rarely see any of the smaller birds. We had blue, great and long-tail tits, nuthatch, robins, sparrows, wrens, great spotted woodpeckers, thrushes and blackbirds ever since we moved her 18+ years ago, now zilch.

Sheena Sat 30-May-15 16:58:58

Do you put food out for the birds loopylou? We always have seeds and nyjer seeds out, and peanuts too when there aren't any young about. Like you we have sparrow hawks roaming overhead once in a while, but luckily they seem to take the pigeons (unlucky for them ! ) more than anything else...

We have not seen sparrows here for years...and rarely see a thrush...but blackbirds, dunnocks, blue tits, great tits, and goldfinches are our most regular visitors (oh, and of course the wretched pigeons !) .
We have loads of the parakeets too, and when we first moved here 15 years ago we were absolutely amazed to see and hear them...but now they are just a flipping nuisance hmm
We are right slap bang in the middle of suburbia but on the edge of the Downs so have some nice big open spaces round and about.

We do occasionally see a buzzard .. the only time we'd seen those was again years ago when we lived in Devon ..

Galen Sat 30-May-15 17:11:45

Lots of buzzards round here

loopylou Sat 30-May-15 17:52:05

We put out loads of food but to no avail, and always have done (peanuts, seed, suet slabs, Niger seed and mealworms)
It's now being scoffed by the crows, starlings and magpies sad

KatyK Sat 30-May-15 19:08:06

Six ducklings following their mother along the canal at the back of our house on Monday. I haven't seen them since. I hope they are all OK.

jinglbellsfrocks Sat 30-May-15 19:15:44

That is amazing that you actually saw one of the parent birds removing the dead chick. So glad three are surviving.

I feel a bit cheated that we have had no nest in our box this year, but I definitely heard little twitterings from our Apple tree the other day, so we do have a new generation somewhere.

Hope your remaining three make it into the big wide world successfully. smile

jinglbellsfrocks Sat 30-May-15 19:16:46

We've had a jay in the garden for a couple of days. Grrr..

whitewave Sat 30-May-15 19:23:53

They are handsome birds though jing
We have a 3 nest box for sparrows and a tit box - absolutely nothing this year.

jinglbellsfrocks Sat 30-May-15 20:31:40

Yes. I wish I could learn to love jays. It actually ventured onto the hanging bird feeder. And took a swig from the bird bath!

Sparrows are few and far between round here these days, which is amazing and sad. Was just watching a dunnock on the grass though, jumping up to get insects off the plants.

PRINTMISS Sun 31-May-15 09:18:22

We have lots of sparrows here, and are always surprised when we read that they are on the decline. The Robins have two nests and are constantly fighting whilst the little wren just continues to dart in and out of the bushes and undergrowth minding her own business. I did not know that goldfinches were so aggressive.

Anya Sun 31-May-15 10:13:03

I've got a garden full of blue tits this morning, in various trees, all shouting and singing. Seems like dozens of them. Shouldn't they all be nesting or couldn't this be them all fledging at the same time?

Earlier this week it was noisy baby starlings.

Anya Sun 31-May-15 10:14:08

Excuse the grammar!

loopylou Sun 31-May-15 11:18:35

Earlier we had a baby blue tit stun itself flying into our patio doors; DH picked it up and put it under a shrub, the parent bird arrived and was feeding it and thankfully its now gone.
Patio doors do have stuck on motif to try and warn birds but this diddy one was clearly too young to figure it out.

cazthebookworm Sun 31-May-15 11:41:15

My neighbour has a blackbird who has built a nest in his unused greenhouse.
I managed to take a quick snap when she was outside feeding.
There are 4 eggs which we are hoping will all hatch successfully.

Grannyknot Sun 31-May-15 12:18:28

caz what a beautiful colour those eggs are.

sheena I would be a gibbering idiot worrying about all the dangers out there for the little fledglings ... all fingers crossed you can post a pic soon of them out in your garden.

numberplease Sun 31-May-15 13:34:37

A swan swam past on the river at the front of our hose this morning, with 4 tiny cygnets. If it`s the same one that goes past here regularly, she`s increased her production line, she usually has 2 little ones each year, so I hope they all do well.