From day to day.


 
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April 2010

April 1st


Beautiful day, cool sun, 6 ° -8 °C.
After much hesitation here it is at last the spring.

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Yesterday evening:


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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.

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Come on, time is dragging past!








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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).

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.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.

Watch VIDEO   (46ko,8s)

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.



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.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.





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"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.








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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.



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Short return to "verify" the bowl of the nest and she leaves. She looks good and has found a  "normal" attitude.











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For long time I have not shown them.

Yes, they too have built. There must be two pairs of sparrows who have installed their nest just a little lower, perhaps in the wall and enjoy a little sweetness, the male as the female take part in the nest building.















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.
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After much hesitation she will sleep in the bowl of the nest until morning.


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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.







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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.

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.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.





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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?

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Inside...

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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.

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Caring!

He brings her more and more often small gifts, which she accepts by flapping wings like a chick.

















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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.

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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...







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A few hours later, sitting comfortably in the sun.







Morning concert.

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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




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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.




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It's a nice day, it's spring, it's time to plant isn't? Taking good care of the roots... lets go, I bring her down my bouquet.

I think she'll like...

















April 7th

Mean weather, cloudy, 9 °C.


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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).

Watch VIDEO   (98ko,10s)









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.

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She sleeps.
A little before 7 am she begins, as yesterday, to stay laid flat and breathe rhythmically. She is lying in the bowl of the nest and doesn't changes position.
She will stay so 10 good minutes.

Him outside, stays there singing without interruption, uses his entire repertoire. She does not move in the nest.
From time to time he clings to the entry, even takes a look inside.

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Inside where...

Watch VIDEO   (1196ko, 2mn37s)

(The entire sequence lasts just over ten minutes; I edited it for two minutes, cutting out the repetitive sequences.)


.At last she shifts. No doubt! The first one.

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She covers the egg gently but not completely.

She goes out quickly, 5 minutes later to find him; he has not left the vicinity of the nest box for a moment.

Where are you?




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He is well there to meet her!

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When she leaves the nest, the egg is still visible.

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She'll be back soon, and will hide it much better. She will remain very active throughout the morning.
Yes, there is well an egg. Well hidden, isn't?





Both will stay almost permanently near the nest box.

She returned often to turn up a feather, moss...

Watch VIDEO   (226ko, 13s)

Until mid-afternoon when they will space the visits (half an hour, then one hour).




April 9th


Magnificent sun, 7 - 16 °C.


.Of course he sings this morning, but the exit is done early, no signs of clutch.
It is 6:50. Coupling the morning.

Usually when clutch begins, the laying is usually one egg per day.

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But this morning still just one egg.














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She does not brood still. She begins to brood in the day when it is almost at the end of the laying to equalize hatchings and so that they happen almost simultaneously.

She passes from time to time and remains in the nest for very short moments in the day.

This morning, she left her egg uncovered until 10 o'clock, covering it then lightly with feathers.










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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.


.Of course, he sings in the early morning!
Around 6:45: laying begins anew, and here is the egg number two around 7am.

Here is an excerpt from the second egg laying sequence:
Watch VIDEO   (578ko, 1mn 49s)
(The entire sequence lasts 15 minutes.)

After singing all the time, he left before she leaves the nest.
She goes at 7:08, leaving an egg uncovered and the other slightly covered but we can guess it.


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Prompt return when she set up her eggs and allows both of them to be seen clearly.




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Cozy!

Watch VIDEO   (258ko, 17s)




Frequent visits in the morning but in the afternoon they leave for two or three hours.








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)


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After covering only partially the eggs, she will leave the nest until 11am. Then pass a dozen times to bring some fresh feathers.












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Both disappear all the afternoon, from 14:30 to 19:30!











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Increasingly deep the nest bowl!

She has just returned. He, accompanied her and then left to sleep elsewhere.














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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.








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