LIVE Blue Tit Nest Cameras
@ Department of Biosciences & School of Engineering and Computing Sciences
Follow the day to day activities of blue tits nesting outside of both the Department of Biosciences and the School of Engineering and Computing Sciences here. The 2017 breeding season is now over, but check back in spring 2018 to see how the new cohorts of chicks get on!
2017
25/05/2017- We now have two lots of chicks! The eggs in the Biology ox hatched at about 4.30 pm on Sunday (21/05/2017). there are at least six chicks in the nest and the adults are keeping busy feeding them.
The chicks in the engineering nest box are also growing quickly (the recent warm weather will be helping). It looks like there are six chicks in this box as well. They are now 10 days old and starting to grow their wing feathers. The feathers initially emerge covered by a waxy sheath, which is lost as the chicks develop.
16/05/2017- Exciting news- there are chicks in the engineering nest box. Both the adults are busy keeping the chicks warm and fed. Fingers crossed the biology box is not too far behind.
09/05/2017: Incubation is well under way in both the engineering and biology boxes, so hopefully we should see the eggs hatching in the next couple of weeks.
** The stream from the engineering nest box is down at the moment but should be back up tomorrow morning
** The stream from the engineering nest box is down at the moment but should be back up tomorrow morning
04/05/2017- Incubation is well on the way in the Engineering nest box. Incubation typically takes between 13 and 15 days in blue tits so hopefully we should see some chicks in the next two weeks.
In the Biology box things are still a bit further behind but there has been quite a bit of activity this morning. There have been some questions about if there were any eggs in there at all. When the adults leave the nest they will cover the eggs with nest material to protect the eggs from cold weather and potential predators such as mice,rats, magpies, woodpeckers, squirrels and crows.
Here are a couple of screen grabs that were taken from the Engineering box earlier in the week. They show some interesting behaviour with the adults seemingly sharing a romantic caterpillar meal for two.
26/04/2017- Exciting news- looks like we've got our first egg and surprisingly it's in the Engineering box. Incubation won't start until the female has laid the full clutch, which might not be for another two weeks.
There's not been that much activity in the Biology box over the last couple of days, which is probably a consequence of the recent cold weather. There was some excitement at lunch time today when a bee came to explore the box, but fortunately it left before either of the birds came back, so no damage done.
20/04/2017: Still no eggs that we know of, but there has been plenty of activity in both nest boxes. In the box outside of Biology, the adults have been busy all week bringing in soft material to line the nest. It's been a bit quieter in the box by Engineering, but things are picking up with the adults now bringing in nest lining material.
13/04/2017: We're back and this year we have twice the fun with nests currently being built in both the box outside of the Department of Biosciences and the box near the School of Engineering and Computing Sciences. The nest outside of Biology is already quite well built with the adults lining the nest cup with downy feathers. Hopefully we should see some eggs soon.
The nest outside of Engineering is a little further behind, but the adults are busy bringing in material and shaping the nest cup.
2016
15/06/2016: That's it! The final four blue tits chicks successfully fledged this morning. They were all gone within 3 minutes of each other-we think even the parent was surprised by the speed.
Watch the video of the final three chicks leaving the nest below. Alternatively, see here for the final four hours of the video stream.
14/06/2016: The blue tit chicks have started to fledge. The first one left the nest at 9.30 this morning, with some encouragement from it's siblings. The second left shortly after. Watch the video below
10/06/2016: Lot's of wing stretching and preening this morning.
9/06/2016: The chicks are over two weeks old now and look like they're preparing to leave the nest. There is a lot of preening and wing stretching, both signs that fledging is imminent. Fledging usually occurs 18-21 days after hatching, so that is anytime from Sunday!
7/06/2016: Good news! We actually have 6 chicks- one must have been hiding at the bottom of the nest.
Also, have you noticed how scruffy one of the parents is looking? In the pictures below (both taken this morning) you can see that one of the adult birds is very smart whilst the other looks like it has lost most of the feathers from its head. This is down to feather mites. Hopefully, this will resolve once the bird has moulted after breeding.
6/06/2016: Unfortunately it looks like we've had some losses over the last week. We're down to 5 chicks, but they seem to be doing very well. They are now quite mobile and can stretch out their wings. Their flight feathers are starting to to emerge from the waxy sheaths.
31/05/2016: Blue tits like to keep their nests clean. After a chick has been fed, the chick will turn upside down and excrete a faecal sac- waste wrapped in a mucous membrane- which the adult will remove and deposit some distance away from the nest. Watch a video from this morning of the female feeding the chicks and then removing a freshly produced faecal sac.
30/05/2016: From the beak count it looks like we've got 8 chicks in the nest box. The adults are very busy feeding the chicks... but not everyone has quite got the hang of it yet!
25/05/2016: Exciting news - we have chicks! The eggs started to hatch this morning at about 6 am. The female was observed eating eggshell after some of the nestlings had hatched. We're still not sure how many there are in the nest, but as the chicks get bigger and start to beg more we should get a better idea.
24/05/2016: Still incubating .....
18/05/2016: There's a blue tit in there somewhere! Incubation is well on the way now. The female is doing a great job, sitting tight and keeping her eggs warm. Incubation takes between 13 and 15 days, so hopefully we should see some chicks soon.
11/05/2016: We're still not sure how many eggs are in the nest, but incubation seems to be getting under way!
05/05/2016: Are there eggs? We've noticed that with the recent cold weather, the blue tits are keeping their eggs well covered with the soft material used to line the nest cup. Blue tits often cover their eggs to protect them from both the cold weather, and from potential nest predators, such as mice, rats magpies, woodpeckers, squirrels and crows.
28/04/2016:Nest building is well under way! Lining the nest cup with soft material such as feathers and hair is the final stage of nest building. There should be eggs soon.
28/04/2016:Nest building is well under way! Lining the nest cup with soft material such as feathers and hair is the final stage of nest building. There should be eggs soon.
2015
11/06/2015 - The last nestling fledges. Watch the video below.
02/06/2015 - The seven nestlings are getting big!
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22/05/2015 - Four nestlings have hatched by 10:00 am. Watch a video of the female eating the eggshell after the second nestling hatches. She was
seen eating eggshell after all four of the hatching events.
seen eating eggshell after all four of the hatching events.
22/05/2015 - first egg hatches between 5:30 and 6:00 am.
11/05/2015 - There appear to be 8 eggs in the box and the nest is being incubated.
8/05/2015 - We count at least 5 eggs in the nest and no incubation yet. But the nest material is obscuring the camera slightly.
30/04/2015 - One egg laid at approximately 8:30 am! Watch the video of the egg lay below.
30/04/2015 - One egg laid at approximately 8:30 am! Watch the video of the egg lay below.
23/04/2015 - Nest cup is being lined - should hopefully have some eggs soon!
13/04/2015 - building phase - an adult seen bringing nest material and arranging nest material in the box
08/04/2015 - the adults may have abandoned building (hopefully temporarily) after three adults were observed yesterday displaying aggressive
behaviour and then at least one adult was observed removing nest material from the box.
06/04/2015 - currently in the building phase
25/03/2015 - potential prospecting?
The video is also streaming live in the Atrium in the School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, so come up to the School of Biology to have a look!
