What a priviledge.

This is brilliant Toto what can be greater than providing an enviroment that wildlife feels comfortable enough to raise a family in ?

It is such a huge compliment and to hell with pic quality its not about that its about what you see in your garden every day.Well done.

I enjoy watching the miracle of life as well and with birds it goes so quickly...one day you have eggs then 3-4 weeks later they are flying out of the nest. Thanks for sharing

Wonderful set of photos Toto. How wonderful to see this happen in your garden. thank you for sharing this.

This afternoon I was watching a house finch feeding her baby who had obviously just left the nest. And at work today we had to rope off a set of young birch trees which are for sale, as a red-winged blackbird has a nest in one of the saplings. The nest is just at eye level for me and it has 4 little eggs in. I'm hoping to get some photos of the progress but without upsetting the mother too much.

Beautiful little bundles of fluff. Well captured, Toto.

Great photos! What a treat. My sister-in-law in Cumbria has installed a nesting box with a cam attached so they could watch the nest on their computer. We saw eggs, then babies and now expect to see the fledglings. Well done -yours have caught on fast to where the food is!!

I agree Bonkers. I am so pleased that they managed to fledg and return to feed. It's almost like they were grateful and willing to share their achievement.
Kmccue. It's is a priviledge to both witness and share with anyone who values the life of our little companions on lifes short journey.
That's wonderful news Gilli. Both for the fact that you can observe them (are they only three feet from the ground?) and for the fact that your employers have made a point of letting them nest in peace.
Thanks Wagger they were a lot better than I managed to portray in my pics.
Thanks Elke. The only nest I have in which I have fixed a camera has been unoccupied. Par for the course really.

The nest is about 5 feet off the ground Toto. It is great that they decided to rope off the nest. It already had 4 eggs in when I found it. If anyone wants a sapling birch tree they'll have to wait until the babies have left. LOL

Or they could by it with sitting tenants.

How beautiful and how lucky are you? Well done on your photos they are very good, such a thrill and priviledge to share with you. Sue x

Thanks Sue.

Wonderful.... :o)

Thanks TT. I thought I had missed them and it was great to see them in the garden. They have all come back a few times now. I guess that they have learnt where there is a good supply of food.

That's encouraging...
You'll maybe have several families nesting next year... :o)

That would be nice. I'll need to make some more nest boxes and see if they get used. I already need to make a couple of open fronted nest boxes to see if I can attract a robin family or maybe a blackbird.

Yes, good idea to make more boxes.
Any chance of a blog please on best places to put boxes for various birds, e.g. in the shade ? height from ground ?
... and the best types of box ?

This summer I should finally have a place on a new post where I can fix a box for blue tits or great tits. Would like to know the best sort to choose. And would a robin box need to be a great distance from other boxes because they are territorial ? Which box is best for robins ?

I'll put something together TT and hope that Bonkers doesn't take the micky too much as I'm sure he would do a much better job than me. Just quickly though. The best type of box for robins is an open fronted one. All birds are territorial TT but their agression is normally reserved for their own species. It has been known for robins to fight to the death when they are trying to establish a territory and I have seen footage of a robin attacking a little, stuffed immitation rival.

Thanks. Never sure how high above the ground these boxes should be.... for real birds... Lol.

This is an excellent site for N American birds - each link gives you dimensions and drawings for building boxes for different birds.
http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/wildlife/ndblinds/index.htm
Here are a couple for the UK:
http://www.lincstrust.org.uk/factsheets/nestbox.php
http://www.garden-birds.co.uk/information/nestbox.htm

Elke ~ thanks. :o)

I'll let you look at the websites that Elke has suggested and if this doesn't give you the information you need then please get back and I will try to help.

wonderfull pics and great close-ups toto

Thanks Sanbaz.

yw toto

Wonderful pics Toto ! I have a lot of tits visiting my table and I can spend hours in the kitchen just looking ... :-))

Thank you Sue.
Actually there have been many beautiful pictures of birds posted on GOY and most much better than mine. If you browse through you will see what I mean

Don't put yourself down Toto ! Yours are wonderful. I've only been here since August and am looking forward to some serious 'Winter mooching' ! :-))

Me too. It won't be long now until the vultures and other scavengers return to the hollyhock bed to collect the old wildebeest bones left over from tyhe nesting of the eagles during the spring and summer.

I've heard that many strange things happen in Essex .... but ??? LOL !!

What's so strange?

LMAO Toto !! It's FAR to early on a Sunday to think of something witty to say ! :-)))