So sorry to hear that Tom. I know of another box where nine eggs hatched and all seemed well for a while. Then, one at a time, the chicks started dying until there were just three feathered chicks left in the nest. They seemed strong and healthy and were being fed by both parents on a Friday but over the weekend these three died too for no apparent reason.

It's even worse when you've been following their progress on camera because otherwise you just wouldn't know, would you? I hope you have more success next year.

Been away on my hols for the last fortnight so not been checking in on here. V glad to see that 3 of your chicks made it Martyn. Sadly it's bad news from our box: our 8 eggs became 6 chicks and they all appeared to be doing well in the week or so from hatching before we went away. However, we did a farewell check shortly before heading to the airport 2 weeks ago and were met with a horrible sight: no sign of mum and zero movement from the chicks in the box (24h previously they had been cheeping away and being regularly fed by both parents). We got back in the early hours last night and I've not been able to check, but I'm holding out little hope. I can only assume that the mother died or was frightened away (I'm assuming a cat as there had been one climbing the tree that the box was in, but can't be certain) and the chicks died as a result. Very sad, and a grim way to start our holiday.

That's it - they're gone! When I got up later than usual at 7am this morning the nest box was empty and there were no signs of the Blue Tits or any of the chicks in my back garden. They must have left early this morning, because all three were sleeping in the nest when I went to bed at 12pm last night.

I was very happy that three chicks had fledged but quite sad to have missed it both live and on camera - I don't have any video recordings of them actually leaving. Anything you see from now on my blog will be recorded highlights of the last few days in the nest box and soon I'll be removing that.

Although I would like to see them again, I do hope they don't hang around in my back garden because the score is currently 3-0 to our cats - trying to keep them away from birds is nigh on impossible.

Good Luck chicks, I hope to see some more next year.

Thanks to all who have watched my NestCam over the last six weeks. Over and out.

The chicks are pretty active today and may be ready to fledge. They are currently sitting on top of the nest when for most of the last three weeks have been spent underneath it. The views are quite good at the moment due to the sunny weather.

P.S. I've corrected the misspelt blog address in yesterday's post - d'uh!

I've managed to rig up an external camera outside my nest box in the hope of seeing the chicks fledge and perhaps even managing to record it. On my blog I now have a split screen showing both views, but the hope of leaving the camera outside overnight and in bad weather has not yet been realised - I haven't come up with a good solution for protecting the mains power to the camera and it will not be convenient to use batteries.

Therefore the left hand video won't be available overnight or when it's raining as I will need to bring the camera inside. However, by this time next year I will have come up with a solution!

-- oops! The blog link was spelt wrong yesterday so I've put it right today. Overnight there maybe video highlights playing in the left video screen, but the right video screen will always be live (as long as it's working).

-- Edited by Martyn Jones on Wednesday 1st of June 2011 10:07:40 AM

I've not posted here for a while as I've been concentrating on my blog. A lot has happened since the last post - the six chicks turned into eight but sadly they died one at a time until we've been left with just three. It's been quite depressing really and I began to question whether I wanted to witness this sad story on a live webcam any more - it's been worse than Eastenders.

The good news is that these three chicks seem to be doing well, with lots of feathers and cheeping. They spend most of the day out of view under the overhanging edges of the nest, only coming out for food which both parents are still supplying regularly. Occasionally the largest chick flutters its wings and hops on top of the nest material - it looks like it might be ready to fledge in a few days.

I've rigged up a camera outside the nest box ready for when they start leave the nest and so you might get some test images on the live broadcast - sometimes I focus in on my bird table or feeders to try it out. I don't know if I'll see them leave. it depends when they go. I've also got to try to keep my cats out of the back garden for a week or so whilst the baby Blue Tits learn to fly and feed themselves.

Two of the chicks are in good view as I write and they are usually quite active in the early evening (4pm to 7pm). Check out more of the story with some pictures on my blog (address also below).

-- Edited by Martyn Jones on Sunday 29th of May 2011 04:50:29 PM

Tyldesley NestCam Update:

Now we are six.

Have a look at the live images on my blog.

Comments should be working again now and I'd be really pleased if you'd leave one.

Tyldesley NestCam Update:

Four chicks and counting now. They seemed to take a while to get the hang of feeding but they're better at it now.

Have a look at the live images on my blog.

Comments should be working again now and I'd be really pleased if you'd leave one.

-- Edited by Martyn Jones on Friday 13th of May 2011 06:39:34 PM

Tyldesley NestCam Update:

At about 6:10am this morning Wills and Kate proudly announced their first hatchling out of eight eggs with a lot of squawking.

The tiny pink baby Blue Tit is showing well with a gaping mouth whenever Kate is not siitting on the nest and Wills is feeding Kate grubs in regular intervals.

Have a look at the live images on my blog and if you'd like to leave a comment that would be great.

Snap - eight in ours too! Got a peek at the clutch the other day when the parent nipped out briefly. I'll check out that BTO link.

Eight eggs and counting in the Big Birdie House. The female Blue Tit is now spending more time on the nest during the day and so she is more likely to be there when you look here or at my blog address below.

There is a live infra red video stream all through the night for the insomniacs or shift workers amongst you, just in case you were wondering what goes on overnight. It's been blowing a gale recently but my little bird is snug in the box (whilst the poor Manchester Peregrine has been buffeted around quite a bit).

I've also started to submit my records to the BTO's Nest Box Challenge 2011.

As of yesterday afternoon (Tues) we're up to 5, possibly 6 eggs.

I may need to work out a way of linking the camera to the web / recording it as we're away a bit in May and I don't want to miss anything!

The Blue Tit Birdie is in da House!

Thanks Tom, I hope you're enjoying yours as much as we're enjoying ours!

Keep watching during the day because the clarity and colour will improve as the light increases. My DVD recordings taken directly from the camera are much better quality that what you can see on the blog, where some sharpness is lost due to the transmission process.

However, when the bird is in the box during the day and in the early evening the blog images are quite good and do have some colour. At this stage there are still long periods of inactivity when the female is out feeding. During some of these I'll replay video clips taken earlier in the day.

Update: 2 eggs visible at 5:52am on 26/4/11 and female still sitting on nest - oops the male's calling now and she's just left.

The eggs are in the bottom right corner of the screen but she does seem to cover them with feathers when she leaves (to keep them warm?) so they may not be visible.

Click on my blog link here or below to see what's happening right now.

Please note I checked this out with Ian first who is happy for this to be done.

-- Edited by Martyn Jones on Tuesday 26th of April 2011 08:24:43 AM

Great stuff!

I got a box camera for Christmas and we've had it in a box since Feb. Plenty of blue tit activity through March - pecking away at the entrance hole and shuffling about inside. We were beginning to wonder if we'd picked the wrong box though - we've another close by and the blue tits were going in there too. In the last week things really sped up though, and on Good Friday we were delighted to find a nest and later that day an egg. There are now at least 3 eggs in there - all very exciting!

As there doesn't seem to be one, I thought I'd start a thread on NestCams for anyone who would like to include links to theirs if they are in Greater Manchester gardens. Please note I checked this out with Ian first who is happy for this to be done.

I have a pair of Blue Tits who are looking promising for nesting in my box this year. After an extended period of checking out the box by pecking at the floor accompanied by lots of wing fluttering, some moss started to appear in the box in late March / early April. When the female bird started to bring in feathers appear last weaek things started to get serious.

However on some days there seemed to be less material in there than on the day before and eventually I spotted a third bird stealing feathers from the box and taking it to another box I have in my garden. The male soon chased off the intruder and I haven't seen more than two birds at once since.

Then on Satuorday morning I verified that the female stayed in the box all night, from about 8pm onwards because she was still in there at 5.45am this morning when I was awoken by the loud calling of the male outside giving her an alarm call.

Both birds are in and around the garden during the day, although they are not entering the box as much now. You can see the live NestCam on the front page of my blog (click on that link or the one below).

The quality is OK on my DVD recordings but once it's retransmitted over the internet it loses some sharpness: however, you can still see what's going on. At night the camera switches to infrared and so the pictures are monochrome - in fact the inside of the box is in total darkness so it's great to have any picture at night. The pictures are better during the day when they do have some colour.

STOP PRESS: We have at least one Easter Egg! The female is currently sitting on it whilst continuing to make improvements to the nest by weaving in the feathers - this report as of 20:15 on 25/4/11.