nesting birds

[markbugman]

I am after some advice
I had great tits using one of my nestboxes but they have now abandoned it.
Inside is fully formed nest with one egg,what is the best thing to do?
Should I remove the nest? and am I allowed to keep the egg?
Any help would be good
regards
Mark

[rossy]

dont do anything at the moment, rossy.

[Elizabeth B]

Originally Posted by markbugman

I am after some advice
I had great tits using one of my nestboxes but they have now abandoned it.
Inside is fully formed nest with one egg,what is the best thing to do?
Should I remove the nest? and am I allowed to keep the egg?
Any help would be good
regards
Mark

This is from an RSPB information leaflet:

Tits and the law
Blue and great tits and their nests are fully protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which makes it an offence to intentionally kill, injure or take any wild bird. It is an offence to intentionally take, damage or destroy eggs, young or nest of any tit whilst it is being built or in use. Nestboxes can be cleared out only between August and January (any infertile eggs remaining must be destroyed).

[markbugman]

Thanks for the replies, I have done some extra research and it suggests that sometimes the birds do come back.

[Elizabeth B]

You might just be lucky. Back in 2002 (only our 2nd year of having camera quipped boxes, so we weren't very experienced) we were rather sad that after eight eggs had been laid in Box 2, there was a fight and the box was deserted. However, nearly three weeks later 3 more eggs were laid (presumably by another female) and incubation started (on 7th May) . Six eggs hatched and 5 chicks fledged. It's interesting that some of the chicks must have been from the original clutch, so the eggs were still viable after such a long gap.