It is the nest of the blue tit, with an entrance of 27 mm in diameter, which was occupied by a great tit (32 mm entrance recommended for this species) during the nights of the beginning of autumn; but it is not always easy for this tit to get inside. We can also see that the nest has attracted the interest of several individuals.

Visits to the nest box of the blue tits have been very rare since the beginning of the year. In fact, only 2 or 3 visits have been observed since January. On March 24, a few blue tits appeared at the same time as the beautiful weather. Early in the day the female brings a few twigs to mark the reserve. On March 25th the nest begins to be built in earnest with the addition of foam.

The construction of the nest has progressed well; it may not be quite finished, but the female will arrive on the evening of March 31st to spend the night.

Laying of the 1st egg on April 06 in the morning. How many eggs will be laid this year?

This year, 11 eggs were laid but pauses were observed. Here are the laying dates: 2nd egg: 07/04 | Break on 08/04 | 3rd egg: 09/04 | 4th egg: 10/04 | 5th egg: 11/04 | 6th egg: 12/04 | Break on 04/13 | 7th egg: 04/14 | 8th egg: 04/15 | 9th egg: 04/16 | Break on 04/17 | 10th egg: 04/18 | Break on 04/19 | 11th egg: 04/20 |

Brooding started on April 23rd (afternoon), 3 days after the end of the laying period.

At the end of the day on May 07, the first little blue ones arrived. Many births took place during the night and the next day. This video shows one of the 10 births. Only 1 egg did not hatch.

It's caterpillar season, much to the chicks' delight. Sometimes they are so big that they end up in 2 bowls at the same time, so you have to swallow them quickly. In the second part of the video, a bowl cleaning session to check the bowl, eliminate parasites or forgotten fecal bags, and check the condition of the chicks. (05/16)

On the morning of May 21, one of the chicks died. It was left at the bottom of the tank until nightfall, when the female tried unsuccessfully to remove it from the nest box.
2 days later, on May 23rd, it will finally be out of the nest box.

Feeding, cleaning the nest, removing feces, there is a lot of work to be done with this large brood! The parents are very efficient. (22/05)

So, after 11 eggs, 10 births, 1 death, 21 days in the nest, here are the 9 flights, 4 minutes apart! The signal is given at 6:27 a.m. on May 28.
At the end of the video, some photos of the chicks in the trees.