Birdwatcher

Linnuvaatleja news, www.linnuvaatleja.ee

This morning [Saturday] the six largest chicks left the webcam nest. The oldest of them were 20 days old. The two smallest however, 3-4 days younger than the others, remained in the nest. What will be the fate of the chicks left behind ?

At 10.40 two chicks were still in the nest

Linnuvaatleja  news item, www.linnuvaatleja.ee

Linnuvaatleja news, www.linnuvaatleja.ee

In the great tit nest with webcam the first chicks were hatched on June 25th and on July 12th [date of the Estonian text], they were 17 days old. Usually great tit nestlings leave the nest in their third week of life, in periods with abundant food already at 15 days

Linnuvaatleja news, www.linnuvaatleja.ee

Translation Liis

On Sunday afternoon (June 25^th) the hatching of the chicks could be watched in the nest in the tree trunk. It is surprising that the chicks hatched just then, since the great tit laid the last egg, the eighth one, in the nest only on June 16th. Normal calculations predicted that the chicks would not begin to hatch until June 28th (read here: When does a great tit actually start incubating? ). http://www.looduskalender.ee/n/en/node/1446

Science news from Linnuvaatleja , www.linnuvaatleja.ee
Translation Liis

The great tit lays one egg each day and starts the incubation after having laid the last egg. Usually there are about ten eggs in a clutch. While the great tit covers the eggs with nest material during the egg-laying period  it does not do so when it leaves the nest during the incubation period.

News from Linnuvaatleja, www.linnuvaatleja.ee
Translation Liis

While there generally is a consensus on the purpose of bird song – singing is the easiest way of self-promotion and warnings to competitors – the springtime birdsong in early mornings has been explained in several ways. It has for instance been thought that on a calm windless morning when the background rustling is absent the singing reaches further and it is efficient for the birds to warn competitors and attract partners. It has also been proposed that in singing the male birds gobble early morning cool air, because it cools the sexual organs and protects the germ cells from overheating.

News item from Linnuvaatleja, www.linnuvaatleja.ee

Translation Liis

On observing the activities of the starlings at the nest boxes it can be concluded from the sounds of chicks begging for food that despite the late and chilly spring many starlings already have hatched chicks.

Today, on May 14th, there were 1 to 3 days old chicks in 5 out of 6 inspected nests in Vana-Kuuste in Tartumaa. Only in one nest there were still eggs but there the starlings did begin the egg-laying about one week later than the others.

Text Margus Ots, www.linnuvaatleja.ee
Translation Liis

In the starling nest box with the web camera a case of nest parasitism took place a couple of days ago, when strange female starlings attempted to lay their eggs in the nest. The eggs laid by them were however thrown out by the pair that regarded the nest box as their own.

Text Margus Ots, www.linnuvaatleja.ee
Translation Liis

In the starling nest with the webcam soap opera-like events took place yesterday, April 26th. At 10.40 am a female bird arrived at the nest box, quickly laid an egg and left. About an hour later the male starling arrived and threw the egg out of the nest. About ten minutes later another female starling arrived unexpectedly and also laid an egg in the nest. At 12.20 the male arrived again and threw this egg too out.

See video clips of the events after the text.

Text and photos Margus Ots
Translation Liis

Counting geese on the ground in fields is easier than counting flying birds – they will not at once disappear from your field of view. But at the same time the geese in a large flock on the ground may be behind each other and the birds farther away may stay unnoticed. Often the geese in a field seem like a narrow band but on seeing the flock from another side it turns out that the goose flock covers a much greater area than supposed, the flock is as long as it is broad and at least half the birds were not noticed at all.