Blue Tit Study
For the last eight weeks the children and I have been observing a pair of nesting Blue Tits in our garden. We have spent many enjoyable days watching these delightful little birds going about their business and we miss them now they have reared their young and flown away. It has been a wonderful experience that has provided the children and myself with a fantastic insight into their world. It has shown us that parenting isn't that dissimilar, whether you are bird or beast.
Simon only put the the bird box up in March and thinking it was a bit late in the season, I didn't bother fitting a camera inside. What a foolish mistake to make because within a few days of the box going up a Blue Tit flew in to check out its suitability for a nest. Just a few weeks later, I sneaked a peak inside the box and got this photo. It was taken on Monday 3rd April, during a LEGO Club session, after I had seen the female fly in and out with nesting material.
I found a blue tit blog on the internet that details what the birds get up to at different times of the year. February and March are the months when the birds find a safe, warm nesting site. Location is important - there must be a clear flight path to the entrance hole and it must be relatively inaccessible to predators. Finding the perfect partner is also top of the list at this time!
The following photos were taken just a few days later. Our bird hide that we built for the Great British Bird Count back in February came in so useful. Simon often returned from work to find me sat in it and on more than one occasion I made him jump out of his skin with fright! The children enjoyed shorter periods of time sat in the hide, but they sat in it none the less!
I remember taking this shot on my new telephoto lens. It was the first time I ever captured one of the Blue Tits flying out of the bird box and I was chuffed to bits. Going by the Blue Tit blog this would be the female. Apparently she builds the nest all by herself with little or no help from the male. A familiar story. Moss will be taken from garden lawns and formed into a cup. When the nest is complete and ready for laying it will be lined with soft feathers, fur or wool. Blue Tits can build a nest in a few days, but generally it takes them between one and two weeks. I would say our Blue Tits were building for about a month, but then this is Cheltenham with homes posher than most!
On Friday 14th April we witnessed plenty of nest building but sadly I was unable to capture any of it on camera!
It had been a sunny morning and whilst getting the kid's breakfasts ready I had casually glanced out of the kitchen window to see the female dart into the nest box with a whole heap of feathers in her beak! I have come to realise that 99% of bird watching is infuriatingly frustrating, not made any easier with the distraction of my own little chicks to feed! Oblivious to the children's rather loud chirps I watched this little bird perched on a branch next to the box for what seemed like forever. When she finally did decide to go into the nest box, she paused at the hole busily fluttering her wings as she worked out if she could fit through with all the feathers in her beak! The pictures would have been fantastic!!
Not to worry I thought, I'd head out there in a few moments, just let me slop the milk onto the children's cereal. But then, she flew back again with more feathers!!! That was it. I scrambled for my camera and hurried outside, huffing and puffing, all the while Jenson laughing at me telling me how it would have made a lovely shot! By the time I did get outside there was no hint of bird to be seen! How typical.
I did get a few nice shots but not the ones I wanted. I even planted rabbit fur on a branch in the hope of attracting her back such was my desperation, and no, don't worry, I didn't pluck our rabbits - they had been moulting! There was also a lovely moment when the pair of Blue Tits exchanged what looked like food but I couldn't focus my lens in time and the moment passed! Safe to say I am no wildlife photographer.
I did however get a picture of a Coal Tit, which is a bird we hadn't seen in our garden before.
A week later, on Friday 21st April, she was still busily making the nest and look - I managed to get a shot of her with a beak full of fur!
Clearly inspired by the birds, Jenson asked if he could make his own nest. It was lovely to hear because he hadn't been that actively involved in watching them. He had occasionally demonstrated some interest but it was fleeting at best. What he had seen however was my enthusiasm and that must have stuck on some level.
What was even more brilliant was this next shot I got. It was taken towards the end of May, so about a month later. I think it's a Great Tit and I caught her raiding Jenson's man made nest for nesting materials for her own brood! Jenson did actually see her doing this as I called him over to the window. He was dead excited!
On Monday 1st May, the bank holiday, there was lots of activity as both Blue Tits flew continuously in and out of the bird box with food. Going by my Blue Tit blog, early May is the time when the female should be laying eggs but by all accounts the eggs had already been laid, hatched and there were hungry mouths to feed! Apparently a female Blue Tit will lay one egg a day, usually first thing in the morning. Blue Tits have one of the largest clutch sizes of all birds - she may lay up to sixteen eggs, but most clutches contain 8-12.
Come mid-May the female plucks away the feathers on her abdomen to create a bare patch to incubate the eggs. She 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 - take note husband!
The chicks hatch naked and blind and are most vulnerable at this time. They need constant warmth and the female will frequently sit on them. Finding food can be difficult if the weather is cold and wet. Our Blue Tits seemed to have no problem finding a good food supply. By Sunday 21st May it had become a feeding frenzy, with both male and female constantly darting in and out of the nest.
Finally, we got our first glimpse at one of the babies! Apart from my wedding and the birth of my own children, I can't remember a time when I have felt genuinely more excited. Having watched Mum and Dad work tirelessly for the last few months; building their home, supporting one another and bringing up their young, I felt like we had a lot in common. As with any good partnership, I'm sure there were arguments, but here was the product of all their hard work and what a cutie!
By the end of May, which is sort of where we are up to by this point, the feeding chicks take their toll on the parents as they flit in and out of the nest box with juicy fat caterpillars. Each chick can eat one hundred caterpillars a day! By now the chicks feathers are more developed and they are starting to look more like they might be capable of flying!
It would be fair to say that by this point my enthusiasm had rubbed off on both Jenson and Wren, either that, or they knew the only place to find me was in the bird hide! Whatever the reason, they both loved watching our feathered friends.
Having watched his Mother toil for months trying to capture these brilliant birds at work, Jenson was keen to get behind the camera too. I tried him on my old SLR which of course, without the mighty lens, gave rubbish results.
It was with a very deep breath that I entrusted to him my camera and big ass lens. I do love that it is about the same length as his arm though! Further more, he looks quite the pro!
More importantly, he took some lovely shots. Bearing in mind he was only five years old at the time and regardless of the focus in some of them, as Simon had to remind me, he had great timing. Blue Tits are lightening quick so it goes without saying that I'm very, very proud of him.
Just one day later, on Monday 22nd May, the babies flew the nest and wouldn't you know - I very nearly missed both fledgling flights!
The big occasion happened during LEGO Club. I had sensed the babies were on the cusp of leaving the nest the day before because on more than one occasion they had stuck their heads out so far I feared they might fall. It hadn't happened thankfully but come Monday morning I was on tender hooks. I've never been that maternal towards any children other than my own, but these baby birds were a whole new kettle of fish. My anxiety had rubbed off on the other parents at LEGO Club for we all kept our eyes firmly on the bird box rather than our own children as we anticipated their imminent flight.
It all got too much for me in the end. I watched one very nearly topple out and decided that was it. Enough was enough. I ran for my big ass lens and while doing so heard the cries of all the other Mum's telling me the first baby had flown and had fallen and was scampering around in the branches. I rushed as fast as I could back to the bird hide just in time to see it scuttle away into the depths of the ivy. I had my lens poised on the bird box in case there were any more. Turns out there was one more and wouldn't you know it, it shot out like a rocket!!
This does not concur with the Blue Tit blog I've been reading. Apparently, come early June, the chicks are ready to fly. Apparently the parents call for them 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, and to the nearest available perch. Sounds like this happened with the first chick, but the second had no intention of hanging around. By all accounts, the parents were as surprised as we were as to where their babies had gone! Below are pictures of one of them returning with food only to find the nest deserted!
I hung out in the bird hide for pretty much the rest of the day hoping the babies would come back. They didn't return for a whole week. I was bitterly disappointed. I could see how the term 'flown the nest' was coined. I actually felt a little bit cross. Having put out food for the last eight weeks or so the least they could have done is stick around to feed. They reminded me much of my own children: ungrateful, self-centered and completely lacking any compassion towards anyone other than themselves. Okay, perhaps that's a bit harsh - they are only birds doing what nature does best!
In contrast to how I was feeling, the children weren't at all bothered by the lack of bird action in our garden. They were however very keen to see the nest. It was a lovely moment and just as the Blue Tit blog had said, there were feathers, moss and fur. We all agreed it looked a very cosy, snug little place for a baby to grow up in. I give the parents their due, they had created a lovely home for their family. I couldn't help but reflect on our own attempts.
A week later and my spirits were lifted. It was a Sunday and my sister had taken the children out for the day. Simon and I were both feeling far too exhausted to do anything other than enjoy the house without our terrible twosome in it. We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and read the papers.
It was then that I heard the familiar call of our feathered friends. I looked up into the tree and could see two rather chubby looking little birds: beaks open, demanding food and no patience, they reminded me a lot of our own children. They had put on a lot of weight since I last saw them just a week ago. The parents in contrast looked like they hadn't eaten a decent meal in months. The similarities between our two families were striking.
This shot is one of the first I managed to capture of the baby Blue Tits. It was wonderful to watch. There it sat, on its branch, chest puffed up, wings beating, demanding its food yet looking very cute. Reminds me so much of my own children.
The parents meanwhile were much like Simon and I: frazzled and scurrying around like a pair of lunatics trying to meet the totally unrealistic demands of our offspring. They do however look far more elegant than we do.
Meal times were also much more pleasant to watch and just look at the baby's face! The sheer size of it in contrast to its parent made me laugh.
Apparently fledglings will stay with (and be fed by) their parents for a few weeks after they fly the nest. This is a dangerous time for them - they need to learn how to find food and avoid predators quickly if they are to survive. Many take advantage of peanuts and sunflower seeds provided by gardens to build up their strangth.
I spent a very enjoyable afternoon in the bird hide watching the antics of this little family unfold. Seems parenting on any level, whatever the species, has many similarities: the children just want more and more and don't budge untill they get it, whilst the parents work their socks off trying to make them happy. A fruitless exercise.
Here are the pair of them.
I love this next sequence of shots. Baby is clearly trying to feed for itself for perhaps the very first time, fails and so calls for parent to come and help.
This next set of photos were taken on Monday 29th May. Just look how fat the baby's are getting!
It turned out to be a very wet day but there was so much activity I couldn't help get out there. Jenson and Wren thought Mother had gone a bit bonkers, but I hope it has sunk in on some level that if you are passionate about something you should be out there doing something about it and embracing it.
The Blue Tits have led by example to be honest. Come rain or shine, they have been out there for the last few months, building their house, feeding their babies and teaching them how to fend for themselves. Whilst they can look beautifully elegant, as per the photo below...
...they can also look very wretched - but I kind of like it.
You must excuse the vast amount of photos. As you can imagine, I took thousands, these are just some of the highlights.
Here the babies are again, looking fatter and plumper than ever!
I wanted to include this picture as it was taken just a week or so ago. The one on the left is a Dunnock's nest, which we found in the ivy hedge in our garden. The one in the middle is the Blue Tit nest, and the one on the right is I think a Thrush. We discovered it at Primrose Vale Farm Shop whilst picking strawberries. We decided a Thrush over a Blackbird on the basis that mud and clay had been used to line the insides, which apparently is something Thrushes do.
As well as the Blue Tits, we've also been lucky enough to see Magpies, Blackbirds, Robins and Jays. The larger birds were often very cheeky and tried their luck at pinching food from the feeders but they were very clever about how they went about doing it. The Blackbird for example knocked chunks off the feeder by flapping excessively then picked up the scraps from the ground.
So to conclude this story I would say it has been a very humbling experience that has definitely enriched all of our lives. It has opened my eyes to a way of parenting that I had never seen before. Despite the obvious differences between both species, when it comes to parenting, we are not that far removed from each other. I felt a great affinity with the parent Blue Tits and could fully empathise with their struggles.
Like Simon and myself, they too had two demanding youngsters who had nothing on their minds apart from themselves and their own needs. The parents accepted this for what it was and dutifully got on with the task in hand: providing for their family come what may. I have watched them overcome many obstacles such as bad weather, a short fall in food supplies, ungrateful offspring etc etc, but what they have shown me is that if you stick together and work together then together you can achieve anything. Of course I don't need a pair of birds to tell me this but it is insightful that any species, be them feathered, covered in fur or skin, all face a similar set of challenges. I guess what sets us apart is how we overcome them and I guess that's what sets us all apart. We all interpret these challenges in our own way but what these birds have shown is that you really don't need very much to do a good job. All youngsters need are a roof over their heads, food, water, warmth, love and perhaps the odd bit of LEGO, (but don't tell the Blue Tits that!)