2020: Nesting record
This record is based on a video published by Shimesan on YouTube, recorded in Yatsugatake, Nagano prefecture, Japan.
Nest building begins
The first moss arrives and she starts chipping at the entrance hole.
🥚 First egg… in an almost empty nest!
The first egg arrives before the nest is barely built. Shimesan called it "sudden egg-laying". She then hauled in large amounts of moss to get things in order.
Nocturnal visitors
A Japanese field mouse (ヒメネズミ) approaches the box that night and she drives it off with calls. A Japanese dormouse (ヤマネ) also visits, but she doesn't react to that one.
🥚 Last egg — 8 in total
The eighth and final egg is laid. Full incubation begins.
🐣 Hatching begins — three in one day
The first chick hatches 21 days after the first egg was laid. Two more follow the same day.
Hatching complete — 7 chicks
The seventh chick hatches. The eighth egg never hatches.
First cheeps; mum sleeps outside
The chicks find their voices. The mother sleeps outside for the first time, leaving the chicks alone overnight.
🐥 Chicks' eyes fully open
All the chicks' eyes are now fully open.
Taking a peek
One chick flies up to the hole to take a look at the outside world.
👋 Fledging
The mother starts feeding through the hole rather than going inside. All seven chicks fly the nest around 9am, 39 days after the first egg was laid and 18 days after the first chick hatched.