Blue tits set up family nest in company ashtray!

An enterprising blue tit has surprised staff at an environmental monitoring company in Letchworth by using an external cigarette ashtray to raise its brood of chicks.

The blue tit caused a flap by setting up home in the wall-mounted metal box at YSI Hydrodata’s new premises, after staff noticed cigarette butts appearing on the floor.

Signs were put up asking smokers not to use the box, which has been filled with moss and twigs by the bird for her eggs to hatch inside.
Andrew Burton’s YSI’s Service Manager said: “Since we manufacture environmental monitoring equipment, the blue tits must have thought this would be a safe place to start a nest!

“We were confused by all of the cigarette butts that suddenly appeared on the floor a few metres from the ashtray and it seems these were removed by the blue tits prior to setting up their nest.

“There are now around seven or eight chicks inside the ashtray and we hope they have an enjoyable stay in their unconventional home.”

Since this News article was first released, it has appeared in just about every newspaper in the East of England, FM World, Wildlife Extra, Estates Gazette, Read-Out (Ireland) and London's Metro newspaper.

YSI's Ian Thompson said, "We are delighted that the Blue Tit story has generated so much interest, but it would be even more pleasing if some of the articles describing our environmental monitoring work were equally as popular!"

UPDATE, 24 June 2010: YSI Hydrodata reports all chicks have now flown the 'nest'. Eleven of them eventually appeared so congratrulations to their innovative and industrious parents!

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