Great Tit in the Blue Tit Box

[photomaniac]

as blue tit family is nesting in my garden in my nest box with 3 young!

a great tit that has a distintive mark white mark on his belly has been going into the nest box and out again!

not spending any time in there just in and out very quickly and the tits not tyring to scare it off!

whats happening?

[PeteTheBloke]

It's not unknown for one species to feed the young of another. I haven't heard of great tits doing it, but wagtails, chaffinches, robins and others have all been known to display the behaviour. Sometimes they just get a bit mixed up, or maybe it's animal altruism.

Watch to see if the GT is carrying food in - it would at least allay your fears of a more sinister motive.

[photomaniac]

to let you know an update:

08:00 am: i was getting ready for school when one of the parents flew into the nest and fed.

3:00: my mum told me that she saw a great tit warning and chasing some bird away from the garden (my mum is rubbish at bird identifying so she didnt know what it was).

4:35: i set up a camera in the garden facing the nest and pressed record.

5:15: i went out there and got the camera and plugged it in on my pc and watched the film and i saw nothing in the great tits mouth.

7:00: one brave youngster unfortunatly thought he was ready to fledge and jumped out the box which he changed his mind and called for the parent and of course the parent couldnt lift it as it was quite big.

NEEDING ADVICE:

i need a answer before darkness so should i put on some gloves and poke the youngster in the hole?!?

and one more thing the great tit doesent seem to have a partner so do you think it is kinda playing a third parents or suragot?!?

[Meta menardi]

Originally Posted by photomaniac

my mum is rubbish at bird identifying so she didnt know what it was

Mums are always rubbish... until you need them.

[PeteTheBloke]

There are some quite experienced bird-rescuers on here, so I hope one comes to your rescue with some advice. If the "unfledged fledgling" left the nest too early, I'd be inclined to advise that you let nature take its course. Usually the parents keep feeding and it won't be long before he/she can fly up to a branch.

As for the great tit, I reckon he's pining for missed opportunities in his own love-life. If there are live nestlings in there he can't be doing much harm.

[photomaniac]

right your!

i have a little expirence with raising chicks as i have raised a blackbird and looked after a piogen when it was injured!

i suppose they are different so i will leave alone.

when it gets dark should i move it towards my bush so it has cover as my house backs onto a field and at about 9:00pm this evening we get about 4 that come through?!?

[PeteTheBloke]

Sorry photomaniac. I wish I knew the answer. It's very tough if you feel there's no other way. I rescued a greenfinch a couple of years back because I was certain a local cat would eat him if I didn't. He died anyway, and I felt awful. Sometimes observing nature means you are going to see stuff that upsets you. I know one fellow who even gets sentimental about the flies caught by a spider's web. If you've done evolution in biology you will know that some blue tits just don't make it, but the ones that do survive strengthen the race.

[photomaniac]

thanks for the help?!?

anyone wants to add or answer the question may do!

info:

blue tits fledged this morning and are hurling themselves around the garden with mum and dad keeping guard and the great tit not appeared all day!

(this is one troubled great tit :P)