Re: help needed re blue tit nesting

Hi Lil Wren i should say the only thing you can do is make sure there is plenty of food on hand (but not too close) so she doesn't have to waste energy flying far.

thanks Alan. I've a feeding station at the end of the garden and have made sure it's filled with her favourites. Fingers crossed she'll manage to stay healthy and raise her juniorettes!

Poor thing, hope she manages to raise some of them. We seem to have list our blue tit family. Built a lovely nest, but only 1 adult seen in the last few days and no nest activity. Only presume something happened to the female. She hadn't laid any eggs yet.

How are you separating the male and female?

ah poor  mr junior! that's so sad to hear. i think it's is possible to tell them apart, esp if you have a nest cam, firstly by the behavoiur they exhibit- and they have very subtle marking differences-and, well at least with ours, when the viewed through the cam, the male also seems more brightly coloured than the female.  

I've seen males duller than females. After having ten in the had I would say that the only physical difference is wing length- males being larger by millimetres. Away from the brightest males I would say that they shouldn't be ID'd on any plumage differences. No marking differences that I am aware of. I can't comment on behaviour.

as i said subtle, but your quite right, is is very hard. 

I wouldn't say obvious enough to call un the field, plus with wear/fresh plumage differences etc it could change throughout the year.