My Tits

Am a bit miffed as my Blue Tits that have used the box under the eaves for the last 5 years have decided to use a box in the neighbours garden Grrr
my box was all cleaned out and tidy so why have they found a new home to make babies .. my box is in a very safe place .. its impossible for magpies or such like to land on top of the box and pose a threat .. guess i will never know .. thing is they are still coming to my garden for the food i have in the bird house and the hanging feeders.. Micky

 

Well, I had to look, didn't I?

How sad they have gone elsewhere, Micky, such a stunning bird. I can't suggest anything but I hope you can lure them back somehow. xx

 

Me too i'd charge the neighbours for feeding their birds

Is your box exposed to full sunshine at all?

 

We have a box in one of the trees which had been used for years by Great Tits - but last year it was taken over by a colony of social bumble bees (not sure of the exact species) but welcome none the less. At the end of last year I cleaned out the box and now we have had some Tits taking a serious interest again, but if the bees come back they will be welcome and perhaps the Great Tits will nest in the box I put in my neighbours tree.

a-a

 

No Ziggy its gets a little sunshine in the mornings from the East and then for the rest of the day its in the shade .. strange thing is they have been happy there for years .. maybe Mrs Blue Tit needed a change

 

I have had a bird box for 4 years now . Birds zero zilch zip I have my little nestling nook facing North Westish , is this correct ?

 

Harry North westish is ok .. thats about the direction of mine .. but what is vitally important is the hole size esp when it comes to Blue Tits .. if its too big they will not nest there ever .. the hole size needs to be about the size of a 2 shilling piece ..
it may be that its too big for a blue tit and not big enough for a great tit ..
just to confuse ya ... Micky

 

A 2/- piece?? - next you'll be telling us that great tits need a hole the size of a Half Crown !!

(Younger members, please Google these references)

a-a

 

Proper money started at a Farthing or quarter penny, 2 Farthings made a Ha'penny or Half d, 2 Ha'pennies made a Penny. 3 Pennies made a 3d or Thrupenny bit, 2 Thrupenny bits made a Tanner or 6d. 2 Tanners made a Shilling or Bob, 2 Shillings made a Florin or 2/- bob bit. A Florin and a Tanner made a Half Crown, 2 Half Crowns made a Dollar or Crown. 4 Crowns made a Pound or 244 Pennies.

A pound and a Shilling made a Guinea.

Thought that was all bleeding obvious.

 

Tittering over tits is verboten. 'Treetreetree birds', if you please.

 

Me too Victoria, I thought it was another thread started by Folly Mon.

Back on topic, it's good to see Tits around the garden, they're always on the lookout for aphids and other pests. I love to see them scrutinising my climbing roses in their search for every last one of the little blighters.
When it's nest building time, we put out bunches of hair left over from combing the cats. This is always eagerly seized upon as a source of nesting material.

 

Could this be the reason? I know you're supposed to clean bird houses out from time to time, but is it possible that in doing so, you changed the scent of it and made it unfamiliar?

Other than that, maybe next door's box is in the catchment of a better school, or maybe it is closer to all the local amenities or is in a 'highly sought after neighbourhood'.

 

240 pennies Ziggy , the 244 was a typo - I bet :WINK1:
Guineas 21/- £1.05 , were only used in very posh shops , where everything was priced in Guineas . Racehorses are still sold in guineas . The one I picked on saturday should be sold to Evo-Stik

 

No, I was just tired, had just driven back from Cornwall.

Guineas were also so auctioneers could take their shilling commision for each pound on the sale. Funny that, as they now charge 15%

You'm didn't pick the winner then.

 

No only had the horse in the office sweepstake . I have never bet since I put a £10 win on Goliath , who was odds on favourite against David .