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Last year's birds

Fluff is usurped

Judging by the new body language, we have a new resident. Fluff has been usurped and driven off. During the day of the first of January 2000 the nest box was the scene of a vigorous battle for possession, with a bird inside banging and a bird outside trying to get in. These two birds chased each other up and down the garden.

The nest-box filled with droppings; after a bit a bird with different body-language, and looking a bit sleeker, seemed to have taken over.

This bird could hang off the inside of the box, clutching on to the camera housing, a thing that we never saw Fluff do. It also had a more pronounced tail and different markings around its neck.

Here is a sequence of pictures. First, crouching to ward off perceived enemies.

Looking and listening.

Preening.

Half-fluffed-up, about to settle.

Roosting.

Collapse

On the afternoon of the 2nd January 2000 there was a clatter and the bird box fell off its mountings, falling several feet and dangling at an angle supported only by the thermometer wires. Fortunately it did not hit the ground. The bird was seen beating a hasty retreat towards the trees.

An improved mount was made for the box, involving retaining wires and araldite epoxy resin. The bird was seen to return to the newly fixed box, look inside briefly, and then depart. We conjecture that the shock together with the smell of the epoxy, not then set, and the human smells, have deterred it.

There were several visits on the third and fourth of January, by, we think, various different birds. None of these visitors has yet been seen to venture into the box.

Now, the usurping bird was seen to wipe its beak repeatedly about the nest-box hole in the day after it moved in, even when no other birds were around. We wondered whether it might have been marking the nest-box entrance with its own distinctive scent. In any case, the visiting birds on the third and fourth of January behaved as if this was the case. As remarked before, the fireworks and human activity near the box, and the fixing of the thermometers, were accepted by the birds with equanimity. But the presence of any species competition causes marked reactions.

Accordingly, on the afternoon of the fourth of January we took the box down and scalded all the wooden parts with boiling water, and we boiled the detachable nest box hole for ten minutes to remove any lingering smell.

We now await further developments in our enforced experiment.

8th January 2000. For the past few days there has been much bird activity in the garden, with birds peering in through the nest box hole regularly, but not deigning to venture inside. There are flocks of up to a dozen goldfinches feeding on the bird table ("Not bird table visitors", it says in one of our definitive British Bird books) with on one occasion a flock of 15 goldfinches seen around the feeding area. It is possible that the parus are deterred by the competition; however as we like the goldfinches and other visitors we have decided not to move the nut and seed feeders and the bird table.

15th January 2000. There is frenetic bird activity in the back garden now. Many birds of many species are pairing up; it is exceptionally warm for January and they are getting into the nesting mood. Our box has been visited frequently by various interested parties; none has yet ventured inside. We have replaced the box front with a larger sized hole so that we may encourage some great tits instead.

The smaller box is shown below in close-up.

9th February 2000. The parus are much in evidence in the garden, if not in the nestbox equipped with the camera. A parus lighted on the yellow wire, in the picture two up above, and sang merrily in at the open bedroom window this morning. It was only two metres away from the human, and so reasonably intrepid. It may have been trying to decide whether to attempt to come in to the house.

13th February 2000. There is much pairing activity in the garden and the pressure is on to find good nesting sites. This morning a small parus has tentatively inspected the camera-equipped box and has briefly been inside to look around and measure up. We are expecting occupancy in the near future.

18th February 2000. Yesterday evening we retired the three nesting boxes (on the back of the house) which are not equipped with a camera and stored them in the garage. It is suggested that these territorial birds do not appreciate company (too close) during the nesting season. We were rewarded by a pair of parus who came to inspect the camera-equipped box this morning, spending several minutes with one inside and one keeping watch outside. As yet, neither of them has attempted to roost overnight.

22nd February 2000. There is a pair of birds now taking a keen interest in the nestbox, see below. They have been in to inspect each morning for the last few days.

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