Up until lunchtime the title for this post was going to be 1st eggs until I found this in the local woods this afternoon. It's a Blackbird chick with an unhatched egg
The nest (pictured below) was found in ivy against a wall
Here we see one that got away. This Song Thrush nest was found in ivy on a holly tree. Use of a mirror on a stick allowed frustrating views of crushed eggshell inside.
.JPG)
hatched eggshell underneath
The nest was quite easy to see. Unfortunately I found it too late
.JPG)
An overview of the nest site
A Blackbird nest in gorse
4 Song Thrush eggs in gorse - note the mud that's used to line the nest. It's moulded by the females breast.
A mirror on a stick (again) showing 4 Carrion Crow eggs
The mirror on a stick was quite easy to make. The handle is a telescopic landing net handle from Argos and a pair of motor cycle mirrors were purchased on Ebay. Total cost - £18
Hi Simon, Would you mind telling me what make of motor cycle mirrors you bought? Difficult to tell with ones you buy online whether they have convex mirrors or not - convex mirrors may be great if you're a motorcyclist but rubbish if you're a nester! Cheers. Dan.
ReplyDeleteHi Dan - I've trawled Ebay and cant find the exact one I bought however this link looks suitable -
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-X-MOTORCYCLE-BIKE-CYCLING-REAR-VIEW-MIRROR-10MM-BLACK-CHROME-UNIVERSAL-SET-/200950639412?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts&hash=item2ec9976b34
Let me know if you get any problems and I'll look again
Regards
Simon
Thanks Simon. Just bought them! I'll let you know how I get on :-)
ReplyDelete