Blue Tits in my Nest Box

[clydeserani]

Hi. Much to my delight I have seen Blue Tits going in and out of my little Nest Box at the end of my Garden..

When can i expect them to Lay eggs etc.

How long until they have layed will the Chicks hatch..

How long after the Chicks hatch can I expect them to Fledge...

Will the mother stay with the Eggs and Chicks at all times and depend on the Male to sustain them...

Is there anything I can do to protect them...Should i ensure that there is food available nearby..I would be happy to buy seed or mealworms or whatever it will take to ensure success for the Chicks.

The box is quite high up and I am scared that Fledgling Chicks will fall from it to the ground and die...I would be heartbroken... Should I put a ledge below the Nest Box so that if they do fall they will not go too far...

Im so excited..this is the first time I have had Birds in my Nest Box...

Thanks.

Claire.x

[ELVIS68]

Sorry can`t answer your questions but....

leave them to it and enjoy watching!

[clydeserani]

Hey Elvis.. How are you tonight...It's brilliant to watch them with their wee beaks full of stuff to line the nest...

I was looking back on all my old posts from when I first started here in 2007 and you are one of a very few names from way back then....

x.C.x

[wildwood]

Lucky you.

It will take about two weeks to build the nest, 7 days or so to lay most of the eggs and 14 days later they should hatch. About three weeks later the young will fledge. This is approximate ofcourse.

You need not worry. Providing they are left alone, the chicks will be able to fly straight away when they leave the nest. Putting a ledge under the box may cause the pair to abandon the box as they don't like interference.
You can not do anything to ensure the success of the event except help by keeping cats away from the box.

Don't overdo the feeding as they will be able to find enough insects to feed the chicks in the first two weeks. The number of eggs they lay corresponds to the available food supply in your area.

As ELVIS said, leave them alone and enjoy the experience. They know what they are doing.

[heathfield]

And both parents will spend the whole day feeding the young ones. Remember - if you put out feed don't include whole peanuts. The parents might feed them to the youngsters, who can choke on them with fatal results.

[burnhal]

Dont put a ledge anywhere near the box- its an open invitation to predators!!
You will tell when the eggs hatch as the parents will make hundreds of trips to and from the nestbox with food. I have watched blue tits feeding young and one parent was appearing every minute with a morsel of food. No wonder they are knackered come the end of breeding.
Blue tits- and all other birds- have been breeding successfully for countless years so as the posts above say- leave hem to get on with it and enjoy them!!

[Jules001]

you may also find that although there is a lot of activity at the moment, they may just suddenly abandon the box altogether, which is what 'my' blue tits did this year. This would have been the first year that the box would have been used, and like you I was very excited, but then suddenly nothing. I have had a sparrowhawk in the garden recently though but not sure if she appeared before the blue tits went. Good luck though I hope they use your box and lay eggs, although I am extremely jealous :)

[ruthann58]

its lovely isnt it ,i think ours have hatched as i saw `one dash `in to the box with a mouthful yesterday ours is near our bedroom window so it easy to watch them , the blackbirds have got their young out of the nest had a mother trying to teach the young ones how to bath in the dogs water the other day the bird bath water couldnt have been clean enough ,lol

[Elainej]

I have a blue tit in residence and another one who appears to be hounding it. could it be the male wooing the female or could they already be parents? whenever the one inside the box comes out the one outside chases it so it goes back in but the other one doesn't follow. He does keep poking his head in though. Can anyone explain what is happening. I would have thought January is too early to have babies.