May 19th 2011
It is a warm, bright, but slightly overcast morning in Dublin. Looking at the nestbox this morning, I am surprised to see all seven chicks are now spending so much time out of the nest cup and walking around. When the parents come in to feed them, they are met with seven large and hungry chicks. At this stage it is great to see that the chicks are now beginning to flutter their wings. They will need to strengthen their wing muscles in readiness for that first flight. They are all looking like perfect little Blue Tits now!

May 18th 2011
It is a warm day in Dublin with some cloud and sunny spells. It is a perfect day for our adults to be out finding food for our seven hungry chicks. I am pleased to report that all seven are looking very well today. They survived the gun salutes and the state visit of the queen! At this stage the chicks are now 17 days old and are entering the most critical period of their short lives.

The next few days will be so important. As they get stronger and start fluttering their wings in preparation for their first flight, their demand for food will grow. Any weak birds will very quickly lose out if food supply runs short. So over the next few days, all seven will need to get an equal share of the food that the parents can bring back. I predict that the chicks will fledge (leave the nest) on Sun or Mon next....but of course, they may prove me wrong!

May 17th 2011
It's a dull and overcast day in Dublin but both parents are still very active and out finding food for their every hungry chicks. It is interesting to think that this family is going about its business while all about them is so much activity. Our little birds will listen to the Army band playing, helicopters flying overhead, cars and people as well as tv crews...perhaps they will have a birds eye view of the state visit of the Queen. But more importantly for our Blue Tits, all seven chicks are still alive and well.

May 16th 2011
All seven chicks remain in the nest. It is amazing the difference between them now and even last Friday...they have grown so much and their feathers have grown....they are looking like Blue Tits now! They are even spending time preening their feathers inside the nest and are beginning to flutter...all in anticipation of the moment fo that first flight. Last Friday I suggested that our dead chick had been removed and I am pleased to report that several of our listeners saw the small chick being removed by one of the parents. This of course will keep the nest clean and tidy.

May 13th 2011
It is a cool, blustery and damp day in Dublin and our parent Blue Tits are hard at work. When the weather is like this, the task of finding food is much harder. Caterpillars and flies are not as active and tend to take shelter. On warm calm days, such food is much easier to find. I have been concerned for the past few days about our little runt. Late yesterday evening I checked in on the nest and thought that he was gone but when a parent returned, well, there he was again begging. However this morning I have watched the parents return with food many times and, try as I might, I can now count only seven mouths begging to be fed. But I could be wrong…is he still there but not as visible being much smaller? Or have my fears now come true….is this little chick our first casualty?

May 12th 2011
It is a warm day with sunny spells in Dublin. Logging on this morning, I expected to see that the eight little chick would be missing…perhaps died and removed at this stage. However, much to my surprise and, to be honest, my delight, I see that it is still alive and kicking! At this stage all the other chicks are beginning to look more and more like Blue Tits as they develop their feathers. The first set of feathers are down feathers, designed to keep the birds warm. Then they grow their main feathers…the big feathers on the wing appear like small pins at first and are given the name 'pin feathers'. Even at this stage, the chicks are beginning to preen their feathers. The 'runt' has not reached this stage yet…let us hope that he continues to survive. I am starting to admire this guy's fighting spirit!!!

May 11th 2011
It's an overcast, blustery day in Dublin with frequent heavy showers. Yesterday I expressed concern about one small 'runt' in the nest and today, those concerns are heightened as this small chick, at least two days younger than the others, is so obviously smaller. At this stage it appears to be about only one quarter the size of the other chicks. I fear for the survival of this little bird. If it dies, the parents will try to remove it from the nest…it is still small enough to be lifted by the parents. However, one listener has informed us that this little chick has been fed by an adult so it is a real fighter.

May 10th 2011
Its been a another busy day at the nestbox and while there are still eight chicks inside, I now fear for one bird. It is now so obviously smaller than the rest. While it is just two days younger, this birds has not grown much and it appears that the others are getting more food. I am hoping it will pull through but I do fear that it will not make it. When the parents return with food, they are more keen to make sure that whichever chick opens its beak first gets fed and so, if this small 'runt' gets weak, the chances of it getting enough food diminishes. I can only hope it can survive.

May 9th 2011
It's a nice day in Dublin and our Blue Tit family is very active today. I can see at least seven chicks in the nest but think that the eight is still there somewhere (under the rest!!). The youngest bird is now very obvious as it appears considerably smaller than the rest. At the moment this bird is still fighting for, and getting, its fair share of food but as the older birds mature, they may well take more and more of the food. But last year we had the same situation with one chick being two days younger and it survived and fledged. So it will be interesting to see how this little guy fares...the next week will be crucial.

May 6th 2011
It is another dull and overcast day in Dublin which, I am sure, is a welcome sight for the young chicks and the parents. At this stage it is getting easier to see eight chicks in the nest and it is very obvious that there is one much smaller bird in the nest. Both adults are however, very active and feeding all the chicks constantly...and this little guy seems to be getting his fair share of the food that is being brought in to the box. Of course, as the older chicks mature and their food requirements and intake increase, this smaller chick may find it more difficult to get enough food. But for the moment, all is well in our nestbox.

May 5th 2011
It's a cool, overcast day in Dublin and our female Blue Tit is, as I write, sitting tight, brooding her young. The chicks are still too young to regulate their own body temperatures so it is important that, on cool days such as these, that they are kept warm. At this point, the male is very active feeding both the female and the young. Again, it is hard to count exactly how many chicks we have but I still think that we have seven in the nest. As they get older, it will be much easier to see exactly how many we have.

May 4th 2011
It is another warm day in Dublin and our female is spending long periods of time brooding her young…she is actually sleeping for long periods of time. However, both adults are very busy as well feeding the chicks…but the young birds do not need so much food at this stage. It is very hard to be 100% sure but it seems that there are at least six chicks and, if un-hatched eggs are present, it is very difficult to see where they are.

The female is still eating some of the faecal sacks that are presented to her. A faecal sack is the chicks 'poop' which is presented in a thin membrane. This is usually removed from the nest and dropped away from the nest. But the young birds do not have well-developed digestive tracts at this stage so there is still some undigested food remainingg in each sack which busy adults will not waste. Over the next day or two, this practice will stop as the chicks mature more.

May 3rd 2011
While it is hard to be 100% sure, it does seem that at least one of the remaining three eggs have hatched so we now have six chicks and two eggs still to hatch. Last year one egg hatched two days after all the rest so we may witness something similar this year. This means that at least one or two chicks (if they hatch) will be a day or two younger than the rest. It would be these birds which would suffer if there is a shortage of food. Last year all the chicks got out so here's hoping that the same will happen this summer.

May 2nd 2011
It's a warm and sunny day in Dublin and, as predicted (guessed), we have lots of action in the nest this morning with 5 chicks hatched. I was lucky to see one of the hatching and it was great to see the female help the chick break free...and then eat the eggshell...a rich source of calcium. There are still three more eggs to hatch and, unless they are infertile, they should hatch later today or tomorrow. Now is when the male really becomes active and he has visited the nest many times with small food items. The female will stay with the chicks at this early stage as they are unable to regulate their own body temperature.

April 29th 2011
Its another warm and sunny day in Dublin and our female Blue Tit remains inside the nestbox incubating her eight precious eggs. In the last day or two, I have expressed my fears that the male might not be around. This would mean real trouble for our birds as the male is usually the one to feed the female while she incubates. I had only seen him visit once and that was last weekend. However, I am so pleased to say that many of our listeners have observed him feed her which means that all is well. I expect that we may see the first chicks early next week.

April 28th 2011
It is a really hot and sunny day here in Dublin and, even though the box is situated in a perfectly cool area of the garden, I can only imagine that it is still very hot inside. Our female is spending long periods of time incubating and the commitment shown by her is inspiring. I have still to see the male feeding the female on the nest…but hopefully some of the listeners will have seen this and put my mind at ease. If she does not have a male to help her raise the young, I fear that we may see a repeat of what happened two years ago when the entire family perished during the last week. Lets hope the male is still here.

April 24th 2011
Our female Blue Tit is now sitting for most of the day on her eggs. Yesterday, she left the nest briefly which allowed me to confirm that she has not laid that ninth egg....there are eight eggs. This is one more than last year and then the pair raised all seven chicks to the the fledging stage (when they leave the nest). It is another warm day in Dublin and even though the nestbox is situated in the right position, it is still hot inside. She is also continuously tidying the edges of the nest lining to make it as snug a fit around her body as possible. The male has visited on one or two occasions with food but she is leaving the nest herself to find food.

April 22nd 2011
Today is a cooler and more overcast day in Dublin which, for our female Blue Tit, makes life a little easier. At this stage it seems that she is now fully in 'incubating mode', sitting tight on her eight eggs. In warm weather, the nest box can become very hot inside…hence the reason why a nest box should never be placed in a south-facing location. On sunny days, the box can become intolerable when placed towards the south. So all boxes should be either placed facing north or even east. But today the incubating female seems very content and is incubating her clutch.

April 21st 2011
It is another hot and sunny day in Dublin. Yesterday our female Blue Tit was spending so much time sitting on the eggs that I was unsure if she had laid a seventh egg or not. Eventually, she moved off the nest and revealed that she had indeed laid another egg. She seemed intent on incubating those eggs and perhaps seven was the clutch size. But this morning she left the nest briefly to reveal that there were now eight eggs. She obviously laid the last one early this morning. She is spending long periods of time sitting on them but she may lay yet another egg as she is still leaving the nest for long periods. As she sits in the nest, she is still tidying up, pulling the nest lining around her.

April 20th 2011
This morning is another lovely sunny morning in Dublin and the female is spending long periods of time sitting on the eggs. It appears that she may have started to incubate them. It is difficult to know if she has laid a seventh egg this morning…we'll just have to watch for a moment when she leaves the nest. You will also notice that she is actively pulling pieces of the nesting lining around her which is also an indicator that she may have started the incubation process. It may take two weeks for the eggs to hatch so we may see chicks emerge during the first week of May.

April 19th 2011
There are now six eggs in the nest and the female is spending long periods of time away from the nest. She needs to maintain her body weight and condition in preparation for the next five to six busy weeks ahead. She has continued to maintain the nest, adding new lining and readjusting the lining. This is all in preparation for the incubation period which will start as soon as the last egg is laid.

April 18th 2011
She has laid five eggs at this stage. Blue Tits can lay as many as 13 eggs but on average she will lay 7-10. Last year, our pair had seven eggs and successfully raised all seven chicks.

April 15th 2011
We have gone live today with our webcam and the female has laid two eggs at this stage. The nest in perfectly lined with feathers and this will keep the eggs safe and warm when she is away. Each egg weighs as much as 10% of her body weight, so the female is spending long periods of time feeding to maintain her fitness and body weight. It requires great effort to produce a new egg each and every day.

April 14th 2011
Our Blue Tit female has laid her first egg in the nest…the season is now truly under way. Over the coming days she will lay one egg each day and will not start incubating those eggs until the very last egg is laid. At this stage we can only guess how many eggs she might lay but let us all hope for a successful breeding season ahead.