Birdcam - Stretton Handley Primary School

<<back to 2010 Diary <<back to 2009 Diary <<back to 2008 Diary	Stretton Handley Primary School Birdcam Diary 2007
2nd April	Bird box fitted to the east side of the school about 3-4m off the ground. Camera checked to see if video link working. Metal hole protector plate was not fitted and the original hole size kept so as to attract a wider number of species.
3rd April	Bird box left undisturbed and unmonitored.
4th April	During the morning, the camera was connected to a computer to receive live images. To our amazement the birds had already moved in and started building a nest. A pair of Blue Tits were filmed in the box and one could be seen pecking at the entrance hole. However, these weren't the only visitors and by lunchtime a Tree Sparrow was seen investigating the box. Further nesting material was brought into the box throughout the day and by tea time, a well camouflaged Sparrow appeared to have taken up residence. The computer was set up to send a snapshot image of the box every 15 seconds to the school web site to give an almost live view inside the box. (NB. the time on the recording computer is 8 minutes slow)
5th April	7.30am - Tree Sparrow up and about. Blue Tits still visiting during the day. Who will win the day! Camera bracket adjusted to centralise picture. Hole just still visible at the bottom of the picture.
6th April	After an early showing by the Tree Sparrow, the two Blue Tits were busy all morning bringing nesting material to the box. Some leaves and feathers was added to the dried grass. At times, both Blue Tits could be seen in the box at once. The Tree Sparrow returned to the box mid-afternoon but there was very little activity later in the day.
7th April	Tree Sparrow and Blue Tits still both visiting the nest box. A few technical hitches today:- Interruption in power supply/Internet connection stopped updates from 5.28 am. Back online 9.50 am (Thanks Lee!). Computer clock has set itself back 1 hr 8 mins but live images still showing.
8th April	6.45 am - an early morning visit from a Great Tit followed by Blue Tits and Tree Sparrows. A relatively quiet afternoon in the nest box.
9th April	Tree Sparrow and Blue Tits still both nest building. The Tree Sparrow often makes a well in the middle of the nest by pushing the nesting material out to the edges of the box. A Tree Sparrow took a short nap in the box during the afternoon.
10th April	Updating of images stopped during the evening.
11th April	Back online mid morning. Blue Tits were active in the morning and a Sparrow was spotted in the afternoon. A large quantity of nesting material has been added during the day including moss. Tonight we have our first sleepover - a well fluffed up Blue Tit appears to have settled down for the night.
12th April	Birdcam offline 2.30 am when a Blue Tit was still sleeping in the box!. Back online 9.30 am - thanks Lee?!
13th April	A misty and cooler day than over the last couple of weeks. Not very much activity in the nest box, although a Great Tit and a Blue Tit made visits early in the morning.
14th-15th April	Only observed Blue Tits visiting the box and they have been more active early in the morning. The nest box is quite full now and the Blue Tits seem to spend more time on one area of the nest sometimes forming a well.
16th April	The Blue Tits appear to be the only visitors to the nest box now. They spend longer periods in the box rearranging the nesting material. A Blue Tit spent the night in the nest box. Time stamp on the current image should now show the correct time.
17th April	Apart from the usual Blue Tit activity in the box, a Sparrow was also spotted.
18th April	A pair of Blue Tits were filmed fighting/mating in the nest box. A further clip shows the exhausted victor taking a nap whilst still defending the nest. Much attention was given to developing the well area of the nest. There appears to be quite a few feathers in the box. A Tree Sparrow was also spotted in the nest box a couple of times. Record what you see using our Birdcam Blog.
19th April	A Tree Sparrow brought a couple large black feathers into the nest early in the morning but they had disappeared again by lunchtime. The Blue Tits continue to visit the nest.
20th April	Sparrows and Blue Tits visiting. Birdcam offline from 4.26pm
21st April	Birdcam back online after lunch. 8pm - Blue Tit sleeping over
22nd April	The Tree Sparrow was again an early morning visitor bringing in nesting material. Although all Blue Tits look pretty much the same, one visitor to the box has quite distinct markings and is not so well groomed. This Blue Tit appears to be the victor from Wednesdays fight. Around 8 pm, a Blue Tit again settles down for the night after feathering the nest.
23rd April	A rather quiet day in the box (although the Birdcam need resetting frequently) and a damp day outside. The usual early morning visit from the Tree Sparrow and the Blue Tit taking up residence for the night.
24th April	The Blue Tit left the nest at 6.08 am and the Sparrow again paid its early morning visit. The Blue Tit turned in early for the night at just after 7 pm, although was rather restless.
25th April	The Blue Tit left the nest box at about 6.15 am leaving an egg in view of the camera. It returned regularly to the nest to sit and rearrange the nesting material. However, at about 9.15 am the Tree Sparrow entered the box and was observed destroying the egg with its beak. It was filmed returning at 10 am to finish eating the egg. It is possible that these events may have also occurred on previous days but were only caught on camera today. The Blue Tit was not seen for the rest of the day until it settled down for night as on previous nights. Hopefully the pattern of the Blue Tit laying an egg and the Tree Sparrow destroying it next morning, won't be repeated tomorrow.
26th April	The Blue Tit left the nest around 6.15 am and the Tree Sparrow paid is usual early morning visit, possibly for breakfast :( despite a 28mm hole adapter having been fitted the day before. The Blue Tit settled down for an early night around 7pm.
27th April	The Blue Tit left the nest at 6.12am, leaving an egg in clear view (see archive pictures). A 26mm wooden hole adapter was fitted around 9.00am but we are unsure whether the Tree Sparrow had already paid its visit. The Sparrow has not been seen on Birdcam today (did anyone see it?). There was a bit of competition for the box between Blue Tits today. A Blue Tit was seen firming down the nest by trampolining round the box! Birdcam update failed between 5-6pm when the entire school web site came offline. The Birdcam needs resetting.
28th April	Birdcam reset at midday. Very little activity in the box, if at all, during the afternoon. The blue tit settled down for the night at around 7.15pm.
29th April	When the blue tit left the nest at 6.20am, two eggs were in clear view. There was possibly a third partially hidden. Hopefully this means that the Tree Sparrow is no longer able to enter the box. The Blue Tit returned for the night at 7.35pm.
30th April	The blue tit left the nest at 6.06am. Two eggs were in view until she returned to cover them up. Only occasional visits were made during the day until she returned for the night.
1st May	The blue tit was seen leaving the nest at 6.06am. 3 eggs were in clear view, possibly more buried? Some thought there were more but it may be a trick of the light. Unfortunately, the Birdcam froze around 6.20pm, so we will have to wait and see.
2nd May	We don't know what time the blue tit left the nest this morning because the Birdcam wasn't reset until after 8am. However, at several times throughout the day, 4 eggs were clearly visible. The female blue tit spent longer periods in the nest box, particularly in the afternoon when she was often seen settling down on the eggs and having a snooze. Maybe she is now beginning to incubate the eggs. There was a visit from a 2nd blue tit during the afternoon but it was uncertain whether it was friend or foe.
3rd May	The female blue tit spent much more time in the box today, apparently incubating her eggs. The male blue tit also made a few appearances to feed his mate. She did however, still leave the nest for extended periods of time, sometimes covering the eggs but occasionally leaving 5 on show.
4th May	The female blue tit left the nest box later this morning and then only for a short time. 6 eggs were clearly visible when she did leave the nest. The male bird visited more frequently today to feed his mate (see archive video>>). An old robin nest box was adapted to be a live mealworm feeder and attached to a nearby tree. A mesh was added over the entrance to allow only small birds to enter. It is hoped that the blue tits will get used to the feeder before the eggs hatch and that the chicks will enjoy some mini-mealworms.
5th-7th May	Playing the waiting game! The egg laying phase has now finished and the female blue tit is incubating the eggs. Thank you to the fairies for resetting the Birdcam over the Bank Holiday weekend!
8th May	Back to school! The blue tit seems undisturbed by the returning children and carries on sitting on her eggs. The male bird was spotted a few times feeding her early in the morning. The mealworm feeder doesn't appear to have been discovered yet, as there are still plenty of mealworms in it.
9th-12th May	A cool and wet week. The female blue tit has continued incubating the eggs with short trips away from the nest, sometimes hammering hard with her beak at the entrance hole from the inside of the box. The male bird hasn't visited many times to feed his mate. There are still plenty of mealworms in the feeder. On Friday we switched to a different piece of software to upload images to the web site ( i-Catcher Wildlife software). So far it hasn't required resetting - touch wood!
16th May	Six eggs in the morning but by lunchtime 5 eggs and 1 chick! A further chick hatched around 4pm. The proud parents are being very attentive, feeding them and keeping them warm. See archive gallery for video of first chick with proud parents. Note how the parent birds try to divide the food into smaller pieces for the tiny chick to eat.
17th May	A third chick hatched out overnight and a fourth during the morning. By the end of lunchtime there were five chicks and only one unhatched egg. The female blue tit brooded the chicks to keep them warm and to incubate the unhatched egg. She did leave the nest to get food, although the male bird also brought in a lot of food for both mum and the chicks. Watch today's video clip entitled "waste disposal" to see what mum is also responsible for!
18th May	There were still five chicks and one egg early this morning. However, during the morning the egg disappeared. It is uncertain at the moment whether we have an additional live chick. Watching live streaming video only shows five chicks at any one time but it is difficult to confirm this whilst the chicks are so small. The chicks have visibly grown over the last couple of days and have become stronger and more active.
19-20th May	The chicks continue to grow along with their appetites! The adult birds are kept very busy bringing in food and clearing out waste. One diligent watcher reported seeing 6 chicks on Saturday but we will have to wait and see.
21st May	Watching the chicks on the live video feed you can really appreciate how much they have grown since Friday and how much work the adult birds do. There does only seem to be 5 chicks, occasionally the light catches a bit of grass which can look a bit like a chick's mouth. Darker patches on their skin show where feathers are beginning to form. Mealworms in the feeder are disappearing, so something is eating them!
23rd May	It is a week now since we reported the first two chicks hatching and they seem to have tripled in size. Feathers are growing on their heads, backs and wings. They are also a lot more vocal. However, it's hard to believe that they could be leaving the nest by the end of next week. Let's hope they wait until we get back from the Spring Bank Holiday to say their farewells!
24th May	The chicks' feathers continue to grow and they can be seen preening themselves. Some of the chicks have white bands on their wings.
26th May	The chicks now look like mini blue tits complete with some markings. The female blue tit is still brooding the chicks at night.
27th-28th May	Despite the cold, wet and blustery weather, the adult birds have continued to be busy bringing in food for the lively chicks. The female bird also broods the chicks to keep them warm and digs around the well of the nest to maintain its shape and depth. The chicks are beginning to open their eyes and their beaks are lengthening.
29th-31st May	Now two weeks old, the chicks have grown amazingly. Three of the chicks are noticeably bigger than the other two. One of the chicks is particularly small, is fluffier and has lighter markings. It does however still seem to get fed, although often it is at the bottom of the pile, pinned down by its bigger siblings. Increasingly, the chicks stretch out their wings and almost launch themselves at their parents as they enter the nest. They are extremely vocal and can be heard from outside the nest box. On occasion, the chicks have been spotted out of the well of the nest but they have spend most of the time huddled together in the well to keep warm during this cold and wet spell of weather.
1st-2nd June	The weather has taken a turn for the better and the chicks are very active in the box. The parents are feeding the chicks from dawn to dusk. Although the female is still spending the night with the chicks, they are now too big for her to completely cover them and at times she sleeps alongside them.
3rd-4th June	Some of the chicks have been curious about the outside world and on occasion have be seen sitting in the hole, only to be knocked back in by an adult bird returning with food! They have also been seen stretching and flapping their wings. Watching the live video feed, you can see the chicks preening themselves and pecking around the box.
5th-6th June	Unfortunately the birdcam was offline between 6.30pm Tuesday until 7.15am Wednesday. During this time four of the chicks, now three weeks old, successfully fledged! Sadly the smallest of the brood was found to be dead in the nest when the birdcam came back online in the morning. It has been removed from the nest, which now stands empty. We will continue to watch the box over the summer to see if we get any more visitors. Further pictures and video will be added to the archive gallery shortly, so please check back again.

Stretton Handley Primary School Birdcam Diary 2007