Blue tits and the dreaded gooseberry sawfly ...

The dreaded gooseberry sawfly, which took a liking to our gooseberry and white current bushes last year, has come back for more ...
Raising two ot three generations during the summer, they can defoliate the entire plant, leaving only the leaf veins and stalks. Although they look like small caterpillars, they develop into a non-stinging wasp-like fly.
So I have started checking daily and picking the green larvae off by hand.


Luckily our resident blue tits are now raising their chicks, and they have discovered this perfect food source so close to their home. So I have a couple of eager helpers!

Here are some pictures of the blue tit parents flying in and out of the nest box. They are taken from my son's bedroom widow. Not the best quality, but you get the idea ...
(I especially like the blurry shape of the bird flying off!)

Blue tits nesting

We put up our nest box years ago, but it was only last year that a pair of blue tits chose it to raise their babies.
This year they are back (or, at least a pair looking just like them!)

To help with the nest building process, we have hung a piece of unspun wool outside. It didn't take them long to find it, and we can watch them pull at it with great enthusiam, taking small amounts into the nest box.



If I manage to take a picture of the blue tits in action, I will post it here.