Help! Blue tit nest box roof loose, can I fix it while birds nesting? (1 Viewer)

[Emslou]

I have nesting blue tits in box with a camera, chicks are a week old, tonight I went to look at the footage and could see the camera had moved, I went outside to the box and the roof was half off, could have been the heavy rain. I pushed it back on but it really needs a staple gun to attached it properly. Can I do this or will the mum be scared off and not come back to feed the chicks? Thanks

 

[Kits]

No! As said in your hello thread, leave it alone.

 

[Gilly P]

something happened similar to ours last year the bottom came loose with the winds and rain. We had to tie something round the house to secure it and all was well, i know you should leave well enough alone but sometimes its necessary..........as little tampering as possible.

 

[Emslou]

I did wrap duct tape around the whole box in the end, I did at 5am when I saw mum sleeping in box with chicks, they didn’t notice me doing it. The remaining chicks fledged nearly two weeks ago, there were 3, and I saw them fly out, 2 landed in the free and third on the floor, I picked it up and put on a branch, I’m not sure if That one made it but I have seen the other two in the garden. Two out of nine eggs, not great, same as last year, still glad some made it.
I now have great tits nesting in a box I put on a fence post which prob wasn’t a good idea, as the squirrels could get to that.

 

[delia todd]

Oh that's great news Emslou - very well done.

The reason that the likes of Blue Tits lay so many eggs is the likelihood a lot of them will die unfortunately. Remember they only need to raise two to adulthood over the lifetime of the pair and they have replicated themselves and kept the population stable.

The ones which don't make it have likely gone to sustain the young of a different species, such as Sparrowhawks.