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 Blue Tits 2007

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9 April

Nice weather. Blue sky, 15°C

He arrives latter this morning: at almost 7h.

She proceeds like every morning. She arranges the nest, plunges the head first in the bowl of the nest and finally she uncovers the center.

Four, it is!

She does not delay and leaves with Ulysses.

She leaves its eggs completely uncovered. Is the weather enough hot this morning? She comes back very quickly, at 7h19.

She does her morning housework, to finally leave its eggs barely covered.

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10 April

Very nice weather. 12°C this morning.

This morning she discovered her eggs less and it is more difficult to distinguish them but there are well five of them. It is 7h11 and she will leave. She turns them over and places them the ones against the others.

Fresh stuff for the nest.

The morning she makes several trips to bring large feathers.

In the afternoon, on average, they pass only every two hours.

At 20h she is already lying even if now it is dawning later. He remains, still for fifteen minutes, besides the nest.

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11 April

Nice weather. 15°C.

Ulysses sings always in the morning but he arrives a little later: at about 6h45.

She left at 7h11 but this morning she did not let to us see her eggs.

Probably 6, but one can just guess the forms. 

She covered half of the center part.












Watch VIDEO   (236Ko, 45s) .  
Before leaving she covers her eggs. Ten minutes latter she comes back to cover a little better the center of the nest or, more precisely to cover only three of her eggs.

At 9h she covers all the nest center.

They remain little on the terrace now. They are very discrete and do not sing any more in the course of the day or very little. Few visits to the nest: this morning, after the morning household, 11h, 11h30, 12h45,13h, 13h30, this afternoon 16h, 17h and 18h30. In the morning she brings some beakfuls of new feathers.

She has built a well packed edge around the center of the nest. It is solid and she can stand on it without problem. The center is deep, the eggs at the very bottom, probably separated from the wood just by a fine layer of moss and down.

Some sunflower seeds are still at their disposal, but they do not eat much any more. Do their long absences in the course of the day correspond to a search for food with more animal proteins? The weather is rather hot and the insects start to come out. She needs insects and caterpillars of which they are very keen. But it is probably not easy to find them downtown; butterflies are seldom seen here. The nearby building plot is now built. Pity, because it sheltered superb butterflybush (buddleia). And, even if we do not put any pesticide in our balcony, it houses only two or three caterpillars every year. 

A small feather and then to bed, even if it is still day.

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12 April

Allaway hot and nice weather.

Exit at 7h03.

As yesterday, at any time she discovered her eggs. It is impossible to know if the nest contains 7 eggs. Then she leaves and will return fifteen minutes later and remain in the nest box to cover all still better.

One more feather. Outside...

...and inside.

How will I install all that now?

At 18h20 she enters the nesting box and… lies down! Poor Ulysses, he is very close outside. He waits. He calls from time to time with small acute cries. His consort sleeps. He tries various songs. Tid tid deelee with the tittitdeeliiiiii. He tries even the songs of the morning. The titmouses have a very large variety of songs. We haven't heard him sing in this manner since a long time.

Photographs of 18h35 - 18h47 and 18h51.
It is 19h, she still sleeps. And at 19h04 she leaves. And surprise: she discovered its eggs completely! Thanks. They set out again together.

There they are: 7!

Has she just laid the seventh? It is possible.

She remained a long time as she does early in the morning, in the same attitude, lying down, breathing heavily and we could saw his beak opening and closing.

 Then she arranged the nest as she does in the morning.

19h20 the eggs are still uncovered.

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13 April

Sky slightly overcast but already 17°C early in the morning. 

Now he sings less in the morning. Exit of Madam at 7h02. But, like yesterday, it is impossible to count the eggs. Then, departure of both. She returns quickly to the nest (10 minutes later) to improve the cover.

Sorry, this page is not translated yet.

Translation in progress.

So

Then she will pass every fifteen minutes until 14h when she leaves until 15h20.

She remains to brood one hour, from 15h30 until 16h20 turning her eggs over from time to time. He awaits patiently, gently sings softly, groom his feathers.

Then he enters to nourish her and… to have a look inside the nest.

Right before leaving she discovers the center of the nest: 8 eggs brown stippled.











At 20h she brings a last beakful of feathers and remains in the nest for the rest of the night.

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14 April

Nice and hot weather this morning (17°C).

He is there as every morning but he finds the waiting too long and, now and then, goes away. When she leaves, at 7h, he is not there.

At 7h, she is on the point of leaving and discovers the center of the nest: 9 eggs in the hollow of the nest.

Very quickly, she will come back to the nest.

She begins to brood and remains for longer periods in the nest (from one half to 1 hour). He returns now and then and sings again under the nesting box as at early in the morning.

She leaves the eggs uncovered.

At 18h she came back and will stay in the nest.

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