Outside our bedroom window is a 'lime' tree - so called because they love lime (alkaine) soil. It is in a row of lime trees along the lane from which our bees (back in the day) produced honey of the most freshly floral fragrance imaginable. Given that the honey was made not of floral nectar but of a sweet sticky substance exuded by insects that suck the sap from the leaves, the fragrance was all the more a wonder of nature.
Frankenstein designed the bird box. The original had its front eaten away by squirrels. Mr B, without removing the original front, fixed a bit of old decking over the front and added a stainless steel 'hole' that should give toothache to any squirrel that tries enlarging that hole again. It does mean that the resident blue tits have to navigate something of a tunnel on the way in and out of the nest box.
Last year the box was occupied by tree wasps, much to the dismay and trauma of our neighbours. No one got stung and internet searches provided information on tree wasps that ranged from 'completely docile' to 'unpredictably and extremely aggressive'. Naturally I favoured the advice that they were docile and that was in fact my experience of them. Apparently no one in the neighbours house got stung either but they had preferred the advice from the opposite end of the scale and the evidence suggests they are the sort of people who go into a complete tizzy if anything makes a buzzing noise within several hundred metres of them, so there was probably a lot of energy expended on noise and arm waving, and running about in panic.
Blue tit occupation of this desirable bit of real estate must have had to start with a total clear out and refit, unless blue tits are good recyclers of wasp nests into their own nesting material. We are seriously hoping that their occupation of the des res lasts long enough that any wasps considering moving back in are discouraged, put off, sent packing, evicted, met at the door with a notice banning trespassers.... I couldn't kill the wasps last year but for the sake of neighbourly relations it would be good if they were not there again this year. (There had been no blue tits last year.)
I didn't know lime trees love lime. Did you keep bees?
ReplyDeleteOh what a lovely sight outside your bedroom window. P has made several tit boxes identical to yours but the metal plates are to protect against pesky woodpeckers as we have no squirrels here.
ReplyDeleteLast year one of the boxes was well under way to being filled with nesting material until the local crows scared off ma and pa. That box has now been relocated to a, hopefully, more secure location.
Hari OM
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful to see the box in proper use again! As coincidence would have it, I was watching (and filming) a bunch of Tits today - am parked in a bit of woodland where feeders are hung by the locals and there are Blue, Great, Coal, and Long-tails. Now, if only Kathleen would buzz off......... YAM xx
since I am deathly afraid of anything that hums and stings, and wasp is at the top of the list, I would be with the neighbor. there is no way to get rid of wasps here, they make their homes everywhere. we don't have a bird house but if we did they would love it. we have at this moment 2 on the front porch, wasp nests, not bird houses. I am making bob take them down tomorrow. every time I go to turn the pool pump on or off I am screeching and dancing and having fits, they love the pool pump, its their water hole, the drips. at the age of 15, I stepped on the back porch of our church, in my Sunday finest and one dropped from the next down the back of my dress. Mother dragged me screaming each time it stung me into a room closed the door stripped my dress off and beat the thing to death with the dress, it stung me about 6 times. per the www its the females that sting, you are safe from the males, except when something goes wrong with their penis, then they sting. i kid you not, i just read that.
ReplyDeleteit says this also. I did not threaten the wasp that went down my dress. evidently is was a female that needed glasses
How likely is a wasp to sting you?
The good news is that wasps aren't always aggressive, and they typically only sting when they feel threatened. (2) If you stay out of their way, they'll stay out of yours. On the off chance that you have a run-in with a wasp, here's what you need to know about wasp sting remedies and sting allergies.
The blue tit looks happy enough in there. Maybe it was the wasps that scared them off
ReplyDeleteWe have European wasps here. They have come over somehow and are a pest.
They are not docile and will sting many times if you dare to come near their nests. Which is hard to avoid when they decide to build at your front or back door.
We can call council and they have someone come round and collect them.
How delightful to have blue tits outside your window! We don't have them in North America but here in Northern California we do have their close relatives the chestnut -backed chickadee, also a very appealing bird. The blue tits are so pretty.
ReplyDeleteThe thought of a blue tit negotiating a tunnel amused me. I hope they appreciate the effort Mr B has put in.
ReplyDeleteHow lovely to see the blue tits, the intended occupants, in residence.
ReplyDeleteReading about the tree wasps reminds me of a story I heard when in Washington State over Christmas. It involved a hapless camper whose remote camping spot in the forest was invaded by a bear attracted by a tree wasp nest. The camper emerged from his tent, the bear disappeared, but the camper went into a complete tizzy on hearing the insects, and started jumping up and down and waving his arms around to fend off a feared wasp attack. In doing so he accidentally triggered the bear spray in his trouser pocket and ended up with painful and embarrassing burns in his groin area. Some people really should stay in the city!
Cheers, Gail.
We have had woodpeckers get at a bluetit nest at one place we rented
ReplyDelete