Mrs Down's Diary

OUR bird box plus camera has a new resident. We only put the box back up again last week and it is already full of grass and feathers as '“ we hope '“ a blue tit builds a nest inside it.

As yet, we have not caught sight of our master builder, but we are infinitely hopeful.

I have been told that blue tits build several nests and then take potential mates around the sites and, with luck, she will chirrup or twitter with delight and settle in. I do not know if this is true and despite looking it up in all of our bird books, have not seen this repeated anywhere else.

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Last year, we delighted in watching a blue tit build a nest and grew even more excited as several eggs were laid. The nest was then abandoned. We had had a sparrow hawk around the house and did wonder if our bird had fallen victim.

This year, we have had far less birds coming to the bird table. Despite tempting offerings of fat balls and nuts, only a few tits, finches, sparrows and robins have accepted our offerings.

Last winter and spring we were inundated, but the wet summer was said to have played havoc with young broods of birds.