Live Stream of my Bird Box - Bluetits Nesting - Chicks Hatching Now

Nazbit

Nazbit

Nazbit

Soldato
Joined
11 Dec 2004
Posts
3,871
Hi,

I'm not sure how much, if any, interest there will be in this.

I have three bird boxes in my back garden with cameras inside.

Although its early days it would appear that a mating pair of bluetits are starting to move in for the breeding season.

I've put up a live stream for now its just an experiment really. If there is interest then I will make arrangements to keep it up longer term.

Live Stream Link: https://bird-box.ml/

Update: Scruffy has laid 7 eggs - so far 4 chicks have hatched.
All being well the remainder will hopefully hatch between Tuesday and Thursday this week.

Previous Streams:

Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFN1eR3Fpv7lQbnmBVB2F2ZpC-uPlojjP

Photo Diary

Here are some recent stills: (click for large)

We had a lot of visits over the winter and in early spring where the bluetits would inspect the box for strength by pecking at all of its surfaces.
We had a few Greattits but overwhelmingly Bluetits.


It started to become obvious that the same bird was returning a lot.
We nicknamed her "Scruffy" because of her distinct appearance


The male calls the female in to approve the box


The male has occasionally been bringing insects and caterpillars to feed the female


The female starting to build a nest in one of my boxes


Change of plan - She's chucking it all out again


Now she has settled on one of my other boxes - a significantly bigger one - for now at least


The female builds the nest largely alone while the male stands guard over the territory.
She is building in the left box while he uses the right box as a place to hang out


The female is now sleeping (roosting) in the box every night


Here they are calling to each other from their separate boxes


She is starting to establish the nest with moss


Now shes bringing in a layer of straw to go on top of the moss


She is using the straw to wave a bit of structure and shape in to the nest


Now shes bringing in sheep's wool and bird feathers to make a soft lining


You can see the soft surface here


You can see here just how much material she can carry in
Relative to her size this is a big pile of moss


She is still coming in to roost every night from sunset until sunrise
She is spending most of the daylight hours outside now as the nest is mostly built.


The nest has remained largely static over the past two days.


Here she is having laid her first egg
Untitled.jpg


And then a second, she lays one a day now for the next week or so


Actually she took a few days off and here is the third egg a few days later



The male popped in to the nest for a look at the eggs which was interesting. She hasn't let him in very often up to now.


Day 15 - egg number 4


Fifth egg this morning


Male visiting to feed her some peanut butter


Egg number six


Male is visiting regularly now


Number seven


No eggs for two days now so I think we are done at 7


She has now begun to incubate the eggs


Regularly Rotating them underneath her for even warmth





And the male is still doing his part bringing her regular food supplies so that she can remain on the eggs


First chick hatched this evening



Second chick arrived the following morning


Mothers will eat the egg shells to replace lost calcium during egg laying


Third chick hatched just a few hours later


Today we woke up to a fourth chick


Four chicks doing well.

Hatching window closes tonight so unlikely that the remaining three will hatch at this point.

Some Quick Facts
  • Bluetits select a nest site in late March
  • Females build the nest mostly by themselves from late March or early April
  • Males stand guard and ward off other bluetits
  • Males will bring food for the female
  • Egg laying starts in mid to late April
  • Female lays one egg per day at dawn
  • Average clutch is 8-10 eggs
  • Incubation lasts around 14 days
  • Female and male both feed the chicks
  • Average brood of chicks will consume 10,000 caterpillars before fledging the nest
  • Bluetits fledge between 18 and 20 days after birth
Bluetit Breeding Timetable (Courtesy of BTO.org)

https://www.bto.org/understanding-birds/articles/blue-tit-diary said:
February
Blue **** start searching for a safe, warm site to start building their nest. The location is important as they require a clear flight path to the nest's entrance hole and the site must be relatively inaccessible to predators. Finding the perfect partner is also a top priority at this time.

March
Birds need to be in prime condition at the start of the breeding season. Placing bird food in the garden, particularly suet, peanuts and black sunflower seeds, provides a valuable source of nutrients and energy which can be used by females to produce eggs and keeps both parents in good condition so that they are able to supply enough food for their chicks.

The female Blue Tit builds the nest alone with little or no help from the male.

April
The female Blue Tit builds the nest alone with little or no help from the male. She takes moss will from garden lawns and forms it into a cup. The nest is complete when it is lined with soft feathers, fur or wool. Blue **** can build a nest in a few days, but generally it takes them between one and two weeks.

Early May
This is an exhausting time for the female. She lays one egg a day, usually first thing in the morning. Blue **** have one of the largest clutch sizes of all birds - up to 16 eggs! However, the majority of clutches contain 8-12 eggs.

Mid-May
The female plucks feathers from her abdomen to create a bare patch with a good supply of blood vessels (called a ‘brood patch’) which helps her to keep the eggs warm as she incubates them. She starts incubating the clutch a day before it is complete and will sit on the eggs for about two weeks until they are ready to hatch. During this time, if she made a good choice of mate, the male will bring her some food, but she will still need to leave the box regularly during the day to feed.

Late May
The chicks hatch naked and blind; as they are so vulnerable at this time the female will frequently sit on them to keep them warm. If the weather is particularly cold and wet finding enough caterpillars to help them grow can prove difficult. Trends show that on average spring is arriving earlier due to a changing climate and in turn trees' leaves open earlier, providing food for caterpillars earlier, so that they in turn peak in abundance earlier in the year than previously. Blue **** have started to breed earlier too, but their shift has not kept pace with that of the peak abundance of caterpillars. BTO research is investigating the implications of this 'phenological mismatch' for Blue **** and other species.

End of May
Feeding chicks takes its toll on the parents as they flit in and out of the nest box with juicy fat caterpillars. Each chick can eat 100 caterpillars a day, so to feed a brood of ten, adults need to find as many as 1,000 caterpillars a day. Adults also need to remove the chicks faecal sacks to keep the nest clean. By now the chicks’ feathers are well-developed and they are starting to look like they might be capable of flying.

Early June
When the chicks are ready to fledge, the parents will call from outside the box, urging them to come out. One by one each chick will poke its head out and make their first tentative flight (usually badly) to the nearest available perch. Blue Tit chicks typically fledge when they are 18-21 days old.

June and July
Fledglings stay with their parents who continue to feed them for a few weeks after they have fledged. This is a dangerous time for young birds. They need to learn how to find food and avoid predators quickly if they are going to survive. If available, they may take advantage of peanuts and sunflower seeds provided in gardens to build up their strength.
Click to expand...

Growth Stages of the Blue Tit

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You lucky whatsit!

I helped a friend install a box like that last autumn and sadly the **** haven't shown any interest thus far. :(

Amidst all the shutdown she was really looking forward to being able to watch the birds nesting but it just hasn't happened.

We are wondering if we did anything wrong??? :(
 
Orionaut said:
You lucky whatsit!

I helped a friend install a box like that last autumn and sadly the **** haven't shown any interest thus far. :(

Amidst all the shutdown she was really looking forward to being able to watch the birds nesting but it just hasn't happened.

We are wondering if we did anything wrong??? :(
Click to expand...

It's one of those things, they'll either use it or not, probably not done anything wrong. We installed a bird box in a sheltered spot, quiet, high up, not in direct sunlight. Hasn't been used. But they have built a nest in an exposed area, balanced precariously on a small ledge :D
 
Yeah. As long as you keep it out of direct sunlight, clear line of flight, no nearby perches for preditors, not too close to feeders etc it's really all you can do.

They're wild birds and will please themselves.

This is the first time I've had a nest in any of my three boxes and obviously it's very early days yet.

I get lots of visits mainly from bluetits and greattits and had a bluetit roost over the winter for a couple of weeks but this is the first nesting attempt.

Ok lets work this swear filter thing out:
Blue ****
Blue ****
Bluetit
Bluetits
Blue-tit
Blue-****
 
@mrbell1984

So the one she's in is the RSPB Sparrow Terrace.

https://shopping.rspb.org.uk/garden-bird-nest-boxes/rspb-sparrow-terrace-nest-box.html

I then test fitted the three cameras to get the mounting position.

IMG-20190223-100847.jpg


Then I cut a small channel for the cabling to run through and allow the roof to close flush.

IMG-20190227-155901.jpg


IMG-20190227-160556.jpg


The cameras are wired IP cameras using POE and have a resolution of 1280 by 1080 and can also do night vision and have built in sound.

They run to a Netgear POE switch in my shed and then Cat 5E to the house.

I record along with the rest of my CCTV on a Gem 8 HP Microserver using Blue Iris.
 
I’m going to have to admit, when I first read the op I thought - ‘why the **** would anyone want to watch a stream of that’ - then I clicked on the stream and it’s actually really fascinating and even quite relaxing.

Good work.
 
Looks like she's fluffing herself up to start roosting for the night.

This will be the first night she's stayed in the box. So far she's worked on the nest in the day but left at night.

Screenshot-20200412-201134.png
 
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Thekwango said:
I’m going to have to admit, when I first read the op I thought - ‘why the **** would anyone want to watch a stream of that’ - then I clicked on the stream and it’s actually really fascinating and even quite relaxing.

Good work.
Click to expand...

Appreciate the honesty :D

As I said I'm not sure how much interest there will be. Expect it will be a minority but hopefully some. Just wanted so share it really.

@mrbell1984 - will come back to you on the cameras. Got one of the boxes upstairs. They're about £100 each.
 
Nazbit said:
Appreciate the honesty :D

As I said I'm not sure how much interest there will be. Expect it will be a minority but hopefully some. Just wanted so share it really.
Click to expand...
I find it’s a bit like staring at a fish tank......in theory it should be boring as hell but in reality it’s fascinating and tranquil in equal measure. At least for me.
Aside from saying ‘good work’ in my previous I should have also said thank you. Quite enjoying it.
 
mrbell1984 said:
What cameras are they? If there is 3 cams do you have 3 live streams for each nesting box?

:D
Click to expand...

This is the view right now.

As you can see the others have had some interest but no takers yet. If we do get any then I will live steam those too.

Screenshot-20200412-201521.png



Thekwango said:
I find it’s a bit like staring at a fish tank......in theory it should be boring as hell but in reality it’s fascinating and tranquil in equal measure. At least for me.
Aside from saying ‘good work’ in my previous I should have also said thank you. Quite enjoying it.
Click to expand...

Glad to hear it, thanks!
 
Nazbit said:
Hi,

I'm not sure how much, if any, interest there will be in this.

I have three bird boxes in my back garden with cameras inside.
Click to expand...
Briliant thanks for sharing.

I have males gathering food in my garden for their females at the moment and it will be interesting to see them passing food even if its not my own ones. I do hope there are no sad ending this time.

I was thinking about the dry food the males take back and the females not getting moisture.
 
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