Blue tit sees red over fag ends

21 May 2010

A blue tit caused a flap by setting up home in an external cigarette ashtray at the new premises of environmental monitoring business YSI Hydrodata.

The first indication that something was happening at the Letchworth building was when FM staff noticed a lot of cigarette butts on the ground surrounding the wall-mounted metal box.

Far from there being inconsiderate smokers as at first thought, it was the blue tit’s doing, said Andrew Burton, YSI’s service manager.

“We were confused by all of the cigarette butts that suddenly appeared on the floor a few metres from the ashtray,” he said.

“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.”

Signs have been put up asking smokers not to use the box that the bird has now filled with her young ones who are well settled in their bed of moss and twigs.

YSI Hydrodata makes sensor technology for water quality, level and flow instrumentation and also offers real-time data collection systems for both marine and freshwater applications.