April 1st
Beautiful day, cool sun, 6 ° -8 °C.
After much hesitation here it is at last the spring.
Yesterday evening:
March 31: she is restless, she entered at about 18:30 in the nest box,
it's still daylight, she settles, rest long time and then look at the
door, leaves, enters, leaves, enters, remains long time, displaces a
feather and exits. Finally enters and remains to accommodate the bowl
of the nest. Passes the head at the door, returns, arranges the bowl...
And starts again. I've seen this febrile attitude before the start of
clutch. But I think it's a little early yet. Or am I wrong? In any case
nothing yet this morning. However for Easter... We'll see.
That night she will sleep in the nest bowl
overnight.
De bon matin:
Of
course, he sings and sings again...
He comes to see the nesting box but he's not very well received. Maybe
tha she will shout: Let me sleep!
He's still not allowed to enter.
Come on, time is dragging past!
She begins to stir a feather at 7:15.
To leave... guess at what time. The internal clock is accurate, at the
same dates in previous years, dame tit got up at exactly the same hour,
same minute (7:19).
The
fashion is to white, this time down, and down sticks all around.
No one between 10:20 and 15h16. They disappeared, enjoying the weather?
The
nest seems over now. It still makes sometimes a small feather here,
here and there.
But when she enters the nest box it's mostly to enjoy a short nap.
Watch
VIDEO (150ko,15s)
(Well, I just put 15s, I do not want to put you to sleep ...)
April 2nd
Light showers, sunny spells. 6-8 °C.
Yesterday evening:
She goes to bed very early last night, although there is still daylight
at 19:42.
"Hey, you're not going to bed just now, isn't?"
He tries to see her in the nest and sings. But she decided to stay in
the nest box.
She starts by putting in the bowl and then changes his mind to join her
favourite corner where she spent the whole night.
He stays out singing, hunting the pair of passing great tits.
He looks happy, sing and sing and fly everywhere.
But the lady sleeps and he eventually left the terrace.
This
morning:
He is always there next morning, and sings, of course.
He gets bored and he flew at 7:17. Madame still sleeps.
She finally rose at 7:28 to sit on the bishiest place in the tree. He
comes back just in time.
"You could have chosen easier, really!"
Not the best place to meet, right?
Then he will not stay. Always in a hurry to leave, afterward. She
remains long on the terrace, leaves and returned at 8:25 and ... lies
down in her corner, and leaves 10 minutes later.
At 13:30 she goes to bed while he sings. A ten-minute nap in his
favourite spot. She enters, goes out, went back to bed again. Not
quiet, the belle. At 13h44 she returns to sleep. Leaves at 14h with him
which came to get her. 14h05 return re-shuteyes.
But agitated, I almost thought she would lay; but in the afternoon and
at the edge of the nest? Weird, this is the first time; usually it's in
the morning. Finally, nothing happened. But the attitude is quite
strange. Watch
VIDEO (356ko,34s)
14h30 she is still asleep. She appears at 14h34 but stays there, on the
terrace, back to bed at 14h36 and leaves 14h38. This time
until
17h.
Short return to "verify" the bowl of the nest and she leaves. She looks
good and has found a "normal" attitude.
April 3rd
It rains, it rains, is very grey, 9 °C.
Last night she entered at 19:30. She makes
multiple arrangements of the nest bowl.
Hesitates, picks the hollow of the nest, raises a feather goes to the
edge, come back in the middle.
After much hesitation she will sleep in the bowl of the nest until
morning.
Early morning and he is there and sings. It rains. Drenched, he was
weary of waiting in the rain, he left at 7am, returns pretty soon, she
is still asleep, and sings a little and leaves at 7:10, he will not
return.
She will come out at 7:30, alone; he did not return. She also leaves.
At 11:30, she has not returned, neither him. It is still raining but
less. There is not a bird, the balcony was deserted all morning.
And once, two minutes later, a band of noisy sparrows arrives, both
great tits and two blue!
Until 14h45 she will adjust, form again and again the bowl of the nest
before leaving as yesterday and come back at 16:30.
She will return to sleep around 19:30, lying in the bowl of the nest.
April 4th
Easter day.
Grey, overcast and heavy rain, strong wind, 8 °C.
Like
yesterday he wearied of singing under her balcony! He left at 7:15 and
she went out alone at 7:20 am.
Back at 11:45 am and shapes again the nest's bowl. In the afternoon
they disappear again.
More materials brought for the nest, it is completed and she spends
very little time in the day inside. However, even if we are to Easter,
I think we're still far enough away from clutch. I read how the nesting
happened in 2008, and the attitude is quite similar, but I also
wondered... six full days before the start of the spawning! So...
Back at 18h19, 10 minutes later off again. 19:40 return.
19:40: here they are together. She enters immediately in the box; he
goes get her a delicacy.
He puts his head in the box ready to enter. A little supper?
Inside...
He will not enter completely; it must be able to feed her just
stretching. It doesn't enter. He leaves... in reverse. Not easy to
extricate in this way.
After another dinner, he leaves.
April 5th
Beautiful, blue sky, 8 - 10 °C.
Again this morning, he left without waiting. She leaves at
7am, earlier.
They are much more often here in the day.
Caring!
He brings her more and more
often small gifts, which she accepts by flapping wings like a chick.
I did not see who was the cause of this pretty pleated skirt, I just
saw that the saved photo. But it must correspond to an approach of a
sparrow or a great tit a little too close to the nest.
She now goes to bed at 20h.
April 6th
Magnificent blue sky, warmth, 19 °C!
As in the preceding days the habits are changed,
he comes always to sing, but leaves just before she gets up.
O.K.! Should we really get up? Beautiful day? Are you there? Well no!
Impatient!
7am, the to pink-orange sunrise begins, she decided, exits, remains a
long time perched near the nest box and then goes away...
A few hours later, sitting comfortably in the sun.
Morning concert.
It must be this, to sing your beak off.
The little singer, this morning, composes.
His repertoire has well increased; it has 5 or 6 different phrases and
occasionally try other variations. You can tell a bird's song, I
listened to a lot blue tits but they still amaze me in the variations
that they create in their morning songs.
She also sings, repeating the most classic themes.
Chi tiit tiiiiiii tchititi tchititi tchititi
Another song breaks out on the terrace this morning.
The jingle of the little dunnock, perched high up in pink in
the bright orange of the rising sun.
A little further down is the blackbird that yells. I think they chose
to nest again in the garden.
April 7th
Mean weather, cloudy, 9 °C.
He sings in the morning as usual. Goes for a short stroll and then
returns. Her attitude however is peculiar, like the other day: it looks
as if the clutch begins.
But no, it doesn't, yet, she leaves at 7:24 which is pretty late.
He immediately founds her for their morning meeting.
Just 10 seconds before her exit (the video was shortened).
She will make more frequent passages in the day, one hour
maximum without an inspection visits which are short, just one second.
She will return around 20:00.
April 8th
Clouds, light rain, strong wind, 8-9 °C in the morning. 12-13 °C.
Here he is again to his rendezvous this morning, dashing, to sing and still to sing. The sky is overcast this morning; he arrived when it was still very dark. He arrived certainly one hour ago and, it's still dark.
Inside where...
(The entire sequence lasts just over ten minutes; I edited it for two minutes, cutting out the repetitive sequences.)
Both will stay almost permanently near the nest box.
She returned often to turn up a feather, moss...
Until mid-afternoon when they will space the visits (half an hour, then one hour).
April 9th
Magnificent sun, 7 - 16 °C.
These photos? Yes, yes it is the big birdhouse! Yesterday, it was 15h
and they enter, feel like a second home?
Classic scenario, he enters, then her and he exits immediately.
This morning they return to look closely on several occasions.
Regrets?
April 10th
Sun, blue sky, 10 - 15 °C.
Prompt return when she set up her eggs and allows both of them to be seen clearly.
April 11th
Sun, blue sky, cool, 5 - 11 °C.
6:58 while the singer makes whole area enjoy his
repertoire, laying of the number 3 starts.
Like yesterday the singer went, I think, immediately after the laying
without delay.
Exit at 7:09, alone.
Watch
VIDEO (940ko, 1mn 21s)
Watch
VIDEO (658ko, 42s)
After covering only partially the eggs, she will leave the nest until 11am. Then pass a dozen times to bring some fresh feathers.
Both disappear all the afternoon, from 14:30 to 19:30!
Increasingly deep the nest bowl!
She has just returned. He, accompanied her and then left to sleep
elsewhere.
They no longer can stand anybody near the nest and hunt sparrows as
well as great tits. They charge at them.
The great tit hid in the camellia and looks above a small speck of sky
blue anger.
Neither the sparrows (though some are very big) or the great tit insist
much to stay.