An indication of the lateness of this year's breeding season is that by this time last year I'd ringed over 700 pulli but this year I still don't have any pulli in my nest boxes in the Lune Valley.
Overall numbers of Blue Tit are well down and Great Tit are almost non-existent. Oddly enough, there are some very large clutches this year, including one of 15 eggs - can't remember seeing one this large before. Pied Flycatchers are still starting nests despite there being almost no singing birds in the woods this week or last week but a number of females are already incubating.
Its certainly a very odd season up here!
Paul
2 comments:
Upper Hindburn
As an indication of how slow off the mark the tits have been, especially Great Tit, by far and away the most advanced nest is a Redstart where the young are 5 -6 days old. NO other eggs of any species have yet hatched and there are about twice the usual number of empty boxes with Great Tit and Nuthatch the main absentees
Longer proper posting soon
Pete
One puzzle has been three completed Pied Fly nests which have remained empty egg-wise yet with males in attendance; in two cases giving alarm calls when box approached. They have been like this for three weeks. There are a further two PF nests in an advanced stage of building which have similarly been deserted, these without males in attendance
Have some females arrived, built and then died in the cold weather?
This is the first year I can recall an apparent shortage of females; usually any 'imbalance' involves a male with two females
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