Okay, so we can't quite compete with the Loch Garten ospreys or the white-tailed eagles on Mull in terms of egg-citement (ho ho!), but this morning we arrived to find our very own camera stars, the Lochwinnoch blue tits, had laid their first egg of the year. One tiny white egg sitting in the middle of a perfect cup-shaped nest. In previous years they have laid up to 10 eggs in this tiny nest and we have watched them grow up from tiny hatchlings to fully-fledged members of the bird world! We hope the same will apply this year.
For the first time we also have a camera on a great tits nest, and my what a difference! Whilst the blue tit seems to very carefully choose its nest material and make a perfectly round cup for its eggs, nicely lined with feathers, the great tit appears more like a teenager - chucking stuff all over the box in a completely random order, before finally making the effort to tidy it all up in time for egg laying.
It'll be great to watch how the two birds, so closely related, differ in their behavior in the nest.
The cameras are on show every day at the RSPB Lochwinnoch Visitor Centre, and we will continue to update the blog for those who are unable to make it along.
Paula