Kitchen Garden Forum

Finally, finally, after many years a pair of coal tits has deemed our nest box a suitable place to rear their family.
[attachment=0]coaltits _Jun 21 2017_1011_edited-1.jpg[/attachment]

Nice photo Diane, but don't think it's a coal tit they aren't blue and green. Still nice to have them using the nest box, I don't think any of mine are being used this year, although the garden is full of fledglings.

The cat is doing his best to reduce the numbers and has added baby Dunnock and adult Robin to his tally this week.

It's a great tit, Diane, not coal tit, but a great picture! All our tit boxes have been taken over by house sparrows this year ...

Brilliant picture Diane! Lucky you!

No yellow on a Coal tit, I agree it's a Great Tit

Oh....thank you - I just assumed because it had a black head that it was a coal tit. Must do more research now. Learning all the time.

Hi,

Great pic - but agree, it's not a coal tit - it's a great tit.

Coal tits don't have as much colour and have a white patch on the back of their necks which is surrounded by black (Mr Pawty is a want to be twitcher so it's always a lesson in our house!)

Pawty

Coal Tit by R MAURINS, on Flickr
I do a lot of photography, mostly wildlife, so if you have access to flickr, you may find the picture you need for identification purposes.

Brilliant info...thank you. Today the last baby has left the nest. So I'm assuming the parents will continue to feed them for a while and then do the parents return to the nest box and lay again? Don't know whether to risk opening the box and giving it a bit of a clean out to get rid of any pests inside. I wouldn't want to upset mum and dad.

P.S. I found your photos on Flickr - absolutely stunning. So impressed. Thank you for the link

Lovely photos - like your kitchen (3381).

Geoff that's a restored Blackhouse on the Isle of Lewis, stunning place to visit if you love the wild side of nature.

Do you put any thing in the boxes to encourage the birds?

Also wondering how far apart multiple boxes should be, as saw a box 18 inches with 3 holes for sale, would they get used being so close.

The bird hotels or terraces work well for sparrows. Well they are supposed to. I have one with four rooms that house sparrows have been using regularly for years, when I clean it out there are several nests but to be honest I haven't checked if they are used at the same time or for successive broods. In another part of the garden I have a single box that has been used by tree sparrows for 3 or 4 years so I made a five hole terrace nearby thinking I would get more nests but although they inspect it they don't nest in it.

I put up 3 boxes last year and all 3 had wasps nests in them, not the desired result!!

I have six box's fixed to the fence down the plot only one gets used its the same one every year I can't work it out they are all identical