It is difficult to count the chicks in the nest but it looks as if we have five, plus at least one egg still unhatched – it is unlikely that it will hatch now. That leaves two out of the original eight eggs unaccounted for. It may be that there are more than five chicks, but it is quite likely that a couple haven’t survived.

A brood of five is on the small side, but that may be a good thing because they will all have a better chance of survival. They are all looking healthy at the moment, opening their mouths wide and stretching upwards as soon as a parent bird arrives with food.

In short – so far, so good!

Lots of activity in the bird box now. This photo, taken at 11.10am on 12 May, shows the male bird bringing food for the hen.

There are still two unhatched eggs at the moment – it might be that they are not viable.

Here’s the first shot this year of mum feeding the newly-hatched chicks.

The first Blue Tit eggs hatched early this morning. This shot, taken at 5am on Friday 11 May, shows a broken eggshell which had been removed by the time the next shot was taken an hour later.

It’s difficult to catch a glimpse of the chicks because the hen still spends most of her time sitting on them, but this shot at 11.50am shows that four of the eight eggs have hatched, and the little pink blobs are the Blue Tit chicks.

Things will get busy in the nest now, with lots of little mouths to feed. The image on the birdbox page will be updated every 15 minutes to give a better chance to see the activity.

It looks as if our Blue Tit has settled for a clutch of eight eggs, which is around the average number. All being well we should see the first chicks appear during the second week of May, and by that time there should be enough grubs and caterpillars about to keep them fed. If we’re lucky the camera might get a shot of the male bird coming in to feed the hen while she is sitting.

Despite today’s gales, rain and unseasonable cold, the Blue Tit has produced her eighth egg and is staying safely in the bird box, protected from the foul weather.

There are seven eggs in the nest now. The hen is spending more time sitting and it is more difficult to spot the eggs, so here’s a shot taken at 8am today while the bird popped out for breakfast.

Taken at 8am 28 April 2012

A clutch of 10 eggs isn’t unusual, so we may see a few more yet.

To celebrate St George’s day, another egg has appeared this morning – there is no doubt about it now.

Photo of nest at 8am 23 April 2012, showing two eggs

We should see more eggs appearing very soon – a clutch may contain as many as 10. At this stage the hen still leaves the nest to feed, so now is the best time to get a look at the eggs. Later on she will be sitting all the time and there are fewer chances to see them.

On checking the birdbox photographs for earlier today, it seems our Blue Tit may have laid her first egg this afternoon.

When there are only one or two eggs in the nest they can be difficult to spot because if the hen is in the box she sitting on them, and when she leaves the box the eggs may be covered with nesting material. However at 5pm today there was a shot of what looked like a single egg in the middle of the nest. If that is right, we can expect more eggs to appear over the next few days and they should then be easier to see when the hen goes out to feed. We may also see the male bird coming in to feed the hen while she is sitting.

In two or three weeks we may be able to see a family of chicks – watch this space.

Our industrious Blue Tit has made good progress with its nest, and over the last day or two the central well has been lined with softer material to insulate and protect the eggs. Laying could begin any time from now on, so keep checking the picture to see the first egg appear.