BUCKFASTLEIGH'S own Spring Watch is up and running with webcams recording the every move of a family of blue tits.

The birds are nesting in the garden of Peter and Kay Thornhill's garden at Elm Bank.

Electronics expert MrThornhill set up the bird box with video cameras years ago and for the past four has been running a video diary with picture updates every five seconds.

Last year was a wash-out because of the bad weather, but this year got off to a promising start with coal tits, great tits and blue tits all visiting the box regularly.

It was the blue tits which finally decided to settle but for a while, but Mr Thornhill thought he had a case for social services on his hands.

'The female was lazy and would only work on the nest from eight til ten in the morning. This made the male very cross. He would bring her food and eventually resorted to collecting moss and cat hair, bringing it into the box and throwing it at her to encourage her to make a decent home for his kids.

'We hung some cotton wool in the garden arch. this was ignored until April 18, when suddenly the whole lot was taken into the box.'

A kinder explanation may be that she sensed that the weather was too cold. Whatever Mr Thornhill says, she now seems to have cleaned up her act and after working more diligently on nest building has laid several eggs. 

'This is where they get clever, as she will not start to incubate her eggs, which takes 12 days to hatch, until she has laid the last one, or until the time is right.

'In previous years we have seen this all happen before and the hatching of the eggs has to coincide with the little grubs that we have hanging in the fir tree,' said Mr Thornhill.

Catch up on Buckfastleigh's blue tits on

Pictures are from Peter Thornhill's archives.