This is a summary of this year's activity; the nest was abandoned after the eggs were laid.
		Updated 12-11-02.

				7 March After last year's 'raid' on the box, the hole was reduced to 1"/25mm in order to attract blue tits (previously it was blackbird size!). However, the BTs didn't seem to be interested - perhaps the box was too big? - but great tits certainly were, as was found when the side camera was temporarily moved above the hole, looking down. Our visitor was looking one way in through the hole.........
				..........and then the other way..........
				........then checked whether there was an entrance lower down.
				An entrance on top, maybe? No, don't be silly, that's where the duty patrol pussy used to sit.
				A pair of GTs moved in on 12 March, two days later they were still bringing in yet more nest material - this was one of 11 'deliveries' that the birds made in 8 minutes.
				Spiders were also very efficiently dealt with.....
				Having dislodged the spider, ready for a nose dive......
				Tasty. There was actually a bird feeder with peanuts in it just a couple of wing flaps from the nest box. But why bother when lunch comes to you?
				There was now so much bedding material that if the birds did a penguin imitation, they could see out through the entrance hole!

	3 April Although her sleep was often fitful, when checking the bird box picture at 10.30pm, our occupant was having an unusually good night. However, a beetle could be seen passing to her right.....
	..... then was heading straight for her. A rude awakening followed.....
	..... then - surprisingly - straight back to sleep while the beetle, unperturbed by its unexpected flying lesson, continued on its way. During daylight hours, the beetle would have been treated as self-presenting lunch fare.

				By 7 April, the female had started laying her eggs, there appear to be two in this view.
				This gives some idea of deep the nest material was.
				Since it was a mild afternoon, the female was out of the nest most of the time; odd that she did not cover the eggs up. She reappeared at 4.55pm, as seen here.
				14 April Something was wrong here - she'd fluffed up her feathers as though cold, even though it was a reasonably mild day. > No visits from the male either.
	16 April The female spent most of the last two days sitting on the eggs. However, the male never came to feed her. On 16 April, she departed and did not return. The male reappeared later on and was calling her - rather too late by then! Over the last three nesting seasons, 29 eggs have been laid in the box; of the birds that hatched, only 5 got as far as the entrance hole.
				Summer 2002 With a digital camera and a pair of binoculars to hand, this visitor was noted eyeing our bird feeder with extreme disdain. It may well have been a hawk like this that disrupted this year's nesting activities.

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