Nesting season 2001
Broad Street, Guildford, UK.
Page three.
Roosting page, October 2000 to February 2001
6th April 2001. Our new pair of birds has been visiting the box (box 1) daily since we first saw them. This evening the male bird has come in to roost, and take formal posession of the box. He arrived at about 19:45 BST (GMT + 1:00) and took a very long time to settle. Here he is, having just arrived, and clearly feeling uncomfortable in the new surroundings.
After a little while, he turns around and around and displays his head to advantage.
He tries to settle repeatedly, shaking himself and moving backwards away from the head end until he backs into the box edge. Unable to go any further, he settles for an hour or so.
Later on in the evening, he has found a more comfortable position. There is the strongest of contrasts between his body language and that of the previous occupant. Who knows where he has been spending his nights recently? Perhaps this box is an improvement.
7th April 2001. Early in the morning, this scratty bird shook itself and stretched itself in a way very reminiscent of the departed occupant. Can this be the same bird, suffered catastrophically in the outside world? Or is the characteristic wing stretching activity common to many individuals? After a lot of rushing around the box (quite uncharacteristic of the last occupant) and several attempts to reach the hole, the bird departed at 05:55 BST.
Here is a picture of the characteristic wing stretch. One can appreciate the scrattiness of this individual here.
A few moments later, the bird repositions itself and stretches out its right wing, showing a rather better collection of flight feathers.
We can begin to see droppings accumulating. Earlier in the night, the picture below demonstrated that this particular bird has trouble concealing its head in its back feathers.
Meanwhile, down the garden there has been addition of straw and moss to nest box 2. In the garden this afternoon, we have been shouted at by the birds, who are behaving territorially.
11th April 2001. Our two scratty birds were inspecting the camera equipped box, box 1, this morning. It is a cold day again. Meanwhile, in box 2 there was a bird sheltering in the newly-constructed nest cup. Here is a picture of this nest, with the addition of a few feathers, on the 9th April. Not much has been added to it since then.
12th April 2001. Maundy Thursday. Much activity in box 1 today; the resident scratty bird left early and the box then became the target of attention from at least two competing pairs of sleek birds. This culminated in a great stand-off battle for possession at about 10:30 am, with the most extraordinary screeching noises and exaggerated posturing. There was much coming and going, until finally, a sleek bird took up occupation at about 13:00, staying for an hour on video camera, fixated by the faint reflected image of itself in the camera cover (which is a transparent plastic box). It kept gazing up at the camera, and threatening itself from time to time with extended wings and tail, and open beak. Every so often it would fly up and attack the camera box, managing to perch on the apparatus right at the top. Here are two pictures, first showing the extended display position of the new sleek bird
and second, showing the glare (or stare) with open beak which it held for minutes at a time. Look at the sleek feathers.
Between these postures, it would fly briefly to the hole and look out to see if it had made its image fly away.
After 14:00 BST it left, not to return again. The scratty bird, lately roosting, did not return this evening either. It had been well-and-truly driven away. There being no occupant at dusk, we demounted the box and cleaned out the many droppings, adjusting the camera position in the process. Our scratty bird was really a dirty bird, leaving a great many droppings in a few days, and making no effort to remove them. Its partner was, if anything, even more scratty, and we judged not up to rearing a brood successfully. Possibly the new sleek birds may start to build a nest.
Old birdsite http://www.ee.surrey.ac.uk/Personal/D.Jefferies/bird/birdsite.html
Lifeforms pictures http://www.eryptick.net/lifeforms.htm
Email dj@eryptick.net
diary continues......