Hello everyone,
I am going to put Thermochron ibuttons into open cup nests to monitor microclimate temperature of the nest. I have all of the details sorted except when to actually put them into the nest during the nest cycle.
The studies I've read vary, and are typically studies from next boxes or ground nests which are more accessible to technicians than open cup nests. I'm concerned that if I place the ibuttons into nests during the building stage (seen most often in the literature), then the birds will abandon their efforts.
Does anyone have experience with this, and would you recommend ibutton deployment during a. building stage, b. after first egg laid, c. after full clutch laid, or d. other?
Thanks in advance.
I used iButtons in lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) nests for a full breeding season. I always put the button in after the first egg was laid as it was impossible to predict where the birds were going to nest. We never had any problem of abandoned nests, although I couldn't comment for other species.
Just as an aside, if you have enough storage on your iButton, or if you can revisit nests to transfer your data, I would recommend setting the iButtons to record at less that 15 minute intervals. We did this and calibrated the buttons with some infra red cameras we had set up on the nests and were eventually able to use data from iButtons alone to monitor behaviour and pinpoint the exact time of events (abandonment, predation, hatching, parental feeding) without visually observing the nests.
This will vary between species and depend what exactly you're interested in. Without knowing either it's difficult to advise.
A study was carried out in Oxford in nest boxes of Great tits, and the ibuttons were placed into the lining of the nest once at least 4 eggs had been laid, before incubation started. The buttons were covered with dark grey cloth so that they were not visible and didn't shine in the nest. The research was carried out by Emily Simmonds, there's a link below to her University profile. She might be able to give you more details.
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