Blue tits aromatherapy!

[rodgyrodge]

Hi Guys,

Firstly, I am new to this forum, and am new to being the owner of a bird box that successfully fledged at least 7 Blue Tit chicks 31st May this year.

Have a question or two, the birds are always in my garden now, they fly around in clutches making it apparent who is in pecking order!
They are either ALL absent and flying around the big oak tree 500 yards away or ALL in the garden eating from various feeders, when will they cease this behaviour in favour of finding a mate?
Which birds are likely to claim the box for next year? parents or yearlings?
If I put up a new box, how close to the old box can I put it without stressing the 1st box occupier in the chick rearing season?
And last but not least, Is it true that blue tits take in lavender to the nest to disinfect? I found small dried lavender buds when cleaning the box last week (we have an abundance of lavender in our garden!)[/color]
Thanks Guys, and looking forward to any replies !!!![/color]

[RKB]

When the young leave the nest they stay together as a family group for a fortnight, but then split up - the young dispersing at least quarter of a mile and up to several miles. The adults stay put. So the birds you're seeing now are not the ones reared in your garden.

Blue Tits form loose flocks in winter that move around a group home range (several adult territories), with youngsters as replacements for dead adults and also as spares. They probably pair up from December but don't get territorial until Feb. But their territories can be very small (0.1 ha) and overlap. If both adults survive the winter then they will breed in the box (though they commonly nest in trios - one males and two females with two nests). If one dies then an unrelated youngster will replace it, or a neighbouring adult who likes the territory better than its own. Blue Tits can live for a decade, and 4-5 years isn't uncommon.

You can have two pairs breeding in boxes 20 ft apart. But unless you live in a woodland then I would not recommend it. There tends to be a limited amount of chick food (caterpillars) in gardens, but the adults are duped into thinking it's a good area by the ad lib birdtable food. But when the chicks hatch they can starve. If you tempt two pairs to nest then both are likely to have reduced success by competing for the same amount of limited caterpillars. I'd leave it at one box.

There is some evidence that they will use some aromatic herbs in the nest, but we're not completely sure how widespread or useful it is. Sometimes they can pick up bit of veg when collecting hair etc from the ground.

[Ben Orme]

It was mentioned on Springwatch that Blue Tits use herbs in their nests.

Their birds were filmed doing it.

[rodgyrodge]

I am a bit disappointed to hear that the blue tits I am viewing in the garden are not the ones that fledged from the nesting box, but all the same, someone else has the pleasure of those birds in their garden, swing 'n' roundabouts, I will put up the new box in place of the old box, instead of adding another, the old box was very old, not completely watertight and had it's day, when the new box goes up, will it be as accepted as the old box because it will be in the same place, or will the birds treat it as new ground? (as a figure of speech),
I am getting more curious about these little things and there seems to be more questions the more I learn about them, will become obsessed with this soon!!!

[rodgyrodge]

Originally Posted by Ben Orme

It was mentioned on Springwatch that Blue Tits use herbs in their nests.

Their birds were filmed doing it.

I am pretty convinced !!!

[Elizabeth B]

Originally Posted by rodgyrodge

I will put up the new box in place of the old box, instead of adding another, the old box was very old, not completely watertight and had it's day, when the new box goes up, will it be as accepted as the old box because it will be in the same place, or will the birds treat it as new ground? (as a figure of speech),
I am getting more curious about these little things and there seems to be more questions the more I learn about them, will become obsessed with this soon!!!

In 2000 we replaced a box that had been used by bluetits for several years, this time with a camera equipped box. Nine eggs were laid, and we watched 6 chicks fledge successfully.

It was fascinating to watch the family growing up, so in 2001 we installed a second camera box, again in place of one regularly used. (This was in the front garden, so out of sight of the first box which was in the back garden). This too was successful - and since we had installed motion detecting software on the computer, we caught lots of photos (up to four per second). This kept me quite busy, scanning through all the photos each evening - and when external cameras were added too......................!!!!!