Blue tits on the allotment or garden are helpful as they feed their young with thousands of caterpillars during the spring and summer, so helping to keep down the numbers of plant-eating pests. Blue tits feed mainly on insects and their larvae, spiders, seeds, fruit, grain, nuts and buds but during the summer the blue tits live mainly on insects.
Blue tits breed wherever there are areas of trees with suitable nest holes so there are not many suitable sites on the allotments. They start looking for nesting sites about February. Nest boxes in gardens are readily used, especially if there is a shortage of natural sites in an area. A clutch of 7 - 13 eggs is laid from mid-April to early May Incubation lasts almost two weeks. The young hatch at a time when food is at its most abundant. They are fed by both parents, mainly on small caterpillars, and stay in the nest for two or three weeks. The adults also remove the droppings regularly, to keep the nest clean.
You may not have seen blue tits on your plot but you will almost certainly have heard them!
If you want to help these gardeners' friends, then put up a nesting box, or bird feeders on your plot and make sure a supply of water is readily available.
Our first attempt at adding video to the site. The film was taken a long time ago before we went digital so the quality is maybe not as good as it could be. You'll need a broadband connection to view the video!
Video Blue Tit Feeding in Tree
Making a Nest Box for Blue Tits
The RSPB have an excellent web site giving all the instructions needed to build all sorts of nest boxes. Click here to visit RSPB web site about making nest boxes
Its especially important to make the hole the correct size for the bird you hope will use your nest box as home. The sizes are repeated below
The entrance hole size depends on the species you hope to attract:
25 mm for blue, coal and marsh tits,
28 mm for great tits, tree sparrows and pied flycatchers,
32 mm for house sparrows, nuthatches and lesser spotted woodpeckers,
45 mm for starlings,
Video Feeding & Leaving Home
We took this video of adult blue tits feeding their youngsters in our garden. As you will see at the end of the film leaving the safety of the nest box for the world outside can be a daunting experience for a fledgling.
Why not make a fat bell for the birds? They will love you for it!
Click here for instructions
 | Bird Nesting Box Cam In February 2011 we put up a new nesting box which has a camera installed so we can view life inside a nest box. This link takes you to another of our web sites where we have created a diary on what went on inside. Click here to see the latest pictures taken by our bird nesting box camera |
 | Provide your feathered friends with a new des. res. The beautiful traditional, rustick style feeding tables will be an attractive addition to any garden as well as encourage more wild birds to seek sanctuary and to feed all year round. You can also chose from small roosting pockets, woven from natural materials, wooden boxes with galvanised rooves to the sophisticated and elegant Gothic style bird table. Click here |
| Or treat them to a classy restaurant Attract a wide variety of birds to your garden all year round with these delightful bird feeders. Gardens provide a valuable habitat for many species of birds and animals, and encouraging wildlife into your garden or allotment will help keep your garden pests at bay. Click here |  |