I have no idea where our garden tits have their nests but we do have fledglings perched on our bird feeder supports shouting at mum and dad to fill their beaks with fat ball food so just cos you've missed the moment they leave the nest doesn't mean they're not still around.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
Once they have fledged, should I clear the nest box out or leave it for new occupants? Possibly the same occupants for a new brood. First year bird box owner here. I know to clear them out before winter.
As far as I know blue tits only have one clutch, but I expect it could depend on the length of season in your location as to whether they have another. The 'bird' experts here might be able to advise you on that @KT53
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
They are meant to only have one clutch, but we quite often get two (inculding this year), but they started very early, so I guess it very much depends on the weather. I usually dont clean out nestboxes until the end of the year
We had great tits nest for the fourth year in a row. The fledge was missed for the first time as previous years we had a dozen or so fluffy little balls all over the garden for a few days but this year no sign apart from our neighbour who saw a half dozen in her garden. I leave the nest box until the autumn now and then clean it out but there is another nearby in case something wants to use it.
I'm hoping that the ones here will fledge over the weekend or thereabouts. It's supposed to be a bit more benign weather wise. They'd get blown away if it had been in the last few days ! There's certainly plenty of great and coal tits nesting nearby me @thevictorian, and they're in and out all the time for food. The chap across the road, and along a bit from me, has lots of trees [pine, hawthorn etc] and hedging in his garden, as it's a decent sized corner plot. Another pair of blue tits come across for food and head back there, so it's possible they have a nest in there, although we also have a small NT garden just beyond that, so there's tons of sites for them. Hopefully the young 'uns will make an appearance too. Lovely to see them all anyway, whether it's the parents or the chicks
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I'm just please that one of the boxes I put up was occupied very quickly. The other was investigated but not occupied. I'll leave it where it is for next year but if nobody claims it then I'll try relocating it.
I don't have any tit boxes in my smallish garden but I've had a family of blue and great tits that have come from a garden quite far away I think and they constantly move up and down the hedgerows so you probaly just missed them fledge but they'll be back.
This morning I could hear Blue Tits calling and saw one on the fence two gardens down but there was definitely more than one calling so I believe that they might be my birds, I was wondering if there natural instinct would be to take the chicks as far from the nest as possible after the chicks leave it? I read that if they remove dead chicks they take them away from the nest site to avoid predators.
Until the day before yesterday, there was an intensive flight traffic in and out of the house. Yesterday evening, when I entered the garden, I saw one of them on the roof of the house "calling" his partner in a way, that I thought, "oh dear, something has happened here". No noise from the house. I saw already the little ones starved to death over the day because something had happened to their mum. I was so said that "my" rentiers were gone. I'm glad that I'm not the only one who asks that question and got the answer. Only one question is left: can I clean the house now or do I have to wait?
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The 'bird' experts here might be able to advise you on that @KT53
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I leave the nest box until the autumn now and then clean it out but there is another nearby in case something wants to use it.
There's certainly plenty of great and coal tits nesting nearby me @thevictorian, and they're in and out all the time for food. The chap across the road, and along a bit from me, has lots of trees [pine, hawthorn etc] and hedging in his garden, as it's a decent sized corner plot. Another pair of blue tits come across for food and head back there, so it's possible they have a nest in there, although we also have a small NT garden just beyond that, so there's tons of sites for them. Hopefully the young 'uns will make an appearance too.
Lovely to see them all anyway, whether it's the parents or the chicks
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Yesterday evening, when I entered the garden, I saw one of them on the roof of the house "calling" his partner in a way, that I thought, "oh dear, something has happened here". No noise from the house. I saw already the little ones starved to death over the day because something had happened to their mum. I was so said that "my" rentiers were gone. I'm glad that I'm not the only one who asks that question and got the answer.
Only one question is left: can I clean the house now or do I have to wait?
This was one of them.
I ♥ my garden.