17April
Beautiful
cold day. 6 °C. Again a red sun rises. The days lengthen quickly; yesterday the
sun was at the same time, well to the right of the crane.
6:52, she's
probably laying the third egg, but today it was impossible to see the bowl of
the nest, which remain covered throughout the day.
Watch VIDEO (794ko 48s)
After covering
the nest very well, at 7:15, she came out 5 minutes and returned immediately
and will continue to warm the eggs until 8am.
At 7:15, breakfast
delivery. Attentive isn't?
It seems that this is a small caterpillar. Not really big, and not yet green,
but the weather is not yet hot. They will be the plumper at the end of May,
when the chicks are born. The bug is just visible in his beak.
She comes at the door to take her breakfast.
You will
take another one, isn't?
7:34, new service.
Two short
passages around noon, and then no one for the rest of the day.
18 April
Grey this morning. 10°C.
Taking the
risk of being weary ... I have not resisted to include the video of the fourth
egg of Puce. (A little tired of 'she' and 'he', as I say in private often Puce
because she is very small ... let's go for Puce occasionally).
6:46 laying of the fourth egg.
And four! Yesterday it was impossible to see the eggs at any time.
At 7:10 she
came out a short time (5 minutes). 7:25 further small exit. Romeo is waiting
for to propose the breakfast tray.
She returned until 8:10 to arrange the nest and a small nap. A small tour, and at
8:45 a.m. she's back.
Some housekeeping work at 9:30, she shakes pillows out of the window.
She goes out with a pen, then a mouthful of softness, for put them back in
shape or clean them I do not know, but she pick at the stuff, perched on the
outside. Then she enters to replace all in the nest as a good housewife.
Household sequence:
I like the
last part when she takes one by one the twigs in her beak, as puffins do with
small fish.
Of course her eggs are now covered.
At 10 am she stays quite a long time to warm them.
19 April
Weather warms; temperature is higher, 17°C in the late afternoon.
7 am this
morning, laying of the fifth egg.
Like
previous days, she passes now and then in the morning and they leave together
all the afternoon.
20 April
Laying of
the sixth.
This
morning it is 6:58 am for the sixth egg. Laying takes place regularly every
morning at the same time, between 6:45 and 7 am.
You can take an appointment.
As in previous days, he sings early, when it's still dark, before 6:30. Now he
no longer waits for her to leave.
He leaves
as soon as the day breaks. He will come back with her at 7:30 am.
Thus, she leaves alone in the morning, around 7:20. She returns promptly to the
nest.
Unable to see the sixth egg.
We waited until the evening to see them. After having warmed her clutch, she uncover
it totally and leaves.
The evening
she returned to warm her again clutch at about 19:30. She remains on the nest
until 20h. Enjoy this delicately red mottled beautiful flower.
She returns to bed a quarter of an hour later. It rains.
The eggs are 16x12 mm. They weight 1.1 g (minus the shell, they weight 1g).
The tits weight 11-12g. There are seven eggs today and she lays ten to twelve on
average.
At the end of laying, in ten-twelve days, her eggs will amount to about her own
weight.
21 April
Sky gray and white. 17 °C.
Laying of
the seventh egg at 6:57 am. Also at the laying time this year, the same
movement of opening wings (a wing in particular). I watched the videos from the
previous year (not very good) because I had not noticed this attitude last year
when she remained stretched, head and tail aligned, wings sometimes only
ajar.
She covers
the centre of the nest early in the morning.
It is 17h and this is the best image of the eggs for this day.
A little messy, but very pretty this nest. We cans see here a sample of
materials used in construction.
The couple
disappears all day except for very brief visits to the nest where she often
brings a little fresher feather.
On leaving
the nest box, a little combing is necessary.
As yesterday,
at 17h50 she returned hatching.
And after brood
a good half an hour, during which he sings softly not far away, she leaves her
eggs uncovered.
Beautiful new grey feather in the forefront. Oh, I saw a passer wood pigeon
just now on the terrace ...
She should come back t about 7:30.
22 April
It is 6:53.
The eighth egg. A small problem, no video, only those 4 photos.
Absent all
day.
Like yesterday she will come back to hatch this evening around 17:00, and then
she uncovered her brood.
The Wood
Pigeon do his show, perched on the vine.
He must have found a home. The couple doesn't squats my window box any more
(for now).
23 April
Grey and
misty this morning. 12 ° -18 °C. Sweet afternoon. Tiny rains.
Ninth egg: 6:53. Same time!
No Romeo
this morning. He does a short passage in song, at about 6:50. Then he disappears
until 7:30 to join up with her when she leaves the nest box.
Start of
brooding.
She hatches during the day since 11 am this morning.
He passes from time to time to feed her. His period of hard work begins. He
sings lengthly before leaving to look for the next dish.
He calls. The signal is small peep-peep-peep, and she leaves the nest box,
accepts a delicacy and returns hatching. She no longer covers her eggs as she
returns immediately.
He calls,
then looks at the entrance and for the first time he is allowed to enter the
nest box.
After giving her the caterpillar, he stays there a short moment to watch.
She will hatch all
afternoon, save for short trips.
Laying may not be complete. She may still lay one or two more eggs
He will pass
now and then to feed her.