Big news from the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch survey results just out: the long-tailed tit has made it, for the first time in the survey’s 30-year history, into the top 10. I hardly ever saw these gregarious little birds until I moved to East Dulwich a decade ago. Until then, I’d always associated them with the pine plantations and heathlands of the Sussex High Weald. We now regularly get them, along with blue- and great tits, charging through the garden in a loose-knit gaggle.
The RSPB put the bird’s recent success down to the possibility that it has adapted to eating seeds and peanuts on bird tables and garden feeders. Normally it is mainly an insect feeder. This is obviously good news for the bird, and for the RSPB, which actively advocates bird-feeding.
For the last two years, I’ve been able to get really close to long-tailed tits, but this is nothing to do with my bird table, but my choice of holiday cottage. Two years running we rented a small cottage near Carisbrooke Castle, in the Isle of Wight and there was an almost tame long-tailed attached to the house. Every day it would flutter at the small side window to the living room, knocking with its body on the glass, and leaving a significant smear of dust and feathers in one corner. The window could not open, and it puzzled us why this bird should spend so much time trying to get in.
If it wasn’t downstairs, it was upstairs at the bedroom, where glass doors led out onto a small balcony. Again, it would flutter at the glass, then perch on the door handle and seemed to peer longingly inside. It always flew off if I opened the door, and never once flew indoors if we left the door ajar. What was going on?
I’ve never really got to the bottom of this. The only thought was that it might have been showing some sort of territorial behaviour, fluttering at its reflection, which it saw as a rival. But these birds live in groups, so isn’t that counter to taking a territory?
Any answers on a postcard please. Or you can comment below.
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We first came across them in our garden about three years ago. They would usually be seen in pairs ‘hedge hopping’ in their search for insects. However this year we are seeing more and more of them and they seem to love the fat balls we hang out. Such beautiful little birds.
The first time i saw one was several years ago whn i lived in a terraced house with just a back yard, i was really surprsed to see it. And just the other week whilst i was in work i saw aother one i couldnt believe my eyes it was busying itself looking for insects on the trees outside the building, i definately had a birds eye view being on the first floor just right to see the tree tops. It brightened up my day thats for sure.
I don’t think I have ever seen long-tailed tits in my garden at all in the twenty odd years I have lived there. Not until this winter that is and then they came in packs!! Six, seven at a time all over the fat balls. I haven’t seen them though since end of Feb.
We have seen Long Tailed Tits for the last couple of years at our bird feeding station, particularly after fats, and the seeds in the fats, they only appear for a few weeks January/February, then disappear for the rest of the year, we live in South Wales, is anyone else recording these birds in South Wales, ?, I am a member of Garden Bird Watch for BTO.
Here in mid-Hampshire we have had long-tailed tits for many years, usually accompanied by several blue tits. They come in a flock of ten or more, and last year they brought their youngsters – the garden was alive with them. They really are a joy to see.
We have had long tailed tits in our garden in surrey for at least the last 16 years. They arrive in great crowds like a pack of lively teenagers and flit around the garden collecting insects. This year they are to be seen regularly eating form the peanut feeder usually in pairs.
We live in Surrey and have acid soil with pines growing. There have always been flocks of twittering Long Tailed Tits. They are my favourite member of the tit family and act like comical clowns flitting from tree to tree. However I have noticed they are becoming bolder and venturing nearer to the house. This winter they have been daily visitors to the various fat goodies I have hung out. I had one sit on the window sill and it appeared to be looking inside at me. However, I concluded that it may have caught sight of it’s reflection in the glass, and like a budgerigar was enjoying the extra company.
We saw Long Tailed Tits for the first time in our garden about a week ago they looked very happy flitting about the trees Ive never seen them before and grabbed my binocculars to get a closer look, hopefully they’re here to stay.
This Winter we had a group of long-tailed tits that visited our little garden in Wiltshire two or three times a day. What fun they are to watch (and listen to). They didn’t go for the fat balls but ate the robin’s food, the ‘bird pastry’ I’ve been making for years. Havn’t seen them recently, I think they must have paired off and found nesting sites elsewhere.
Sitting outside a cafe in the centre of Plymouth last December I was delighted to hear the high-pitched call of a LTT. On looking up at the trees in the central bed opposite I saw a whole flock of at least 30 of them. A real bonus to the soul in the middle of a bleak winters shopping trip ! They then flew off, calling all the time,down the centre planting areas leading to the Hoe
Not a single person looked up – missing such a delightful display ! I caught the bus home that day with a smile !
i have never seen a long tailed tit in all my 45 years until this winter feeding from fat balls in my garden at first i thought they were buggies i brought a bird book and found they were lttbeautiful they are still coming to my garden in leicester
I have a little flock of long tailed tits come to my garden every year they dash in, clamber over shubs looking for insects, always following one and other from shrub to shrub not really interested in the feeders, they do spend more time searching out insects, then they all fly off in quick succession, dear little things.
They are one of the birds I see most in my garden and there seem to be lots in the surrounding neighbourhood I live in in Liverpool.
I have a Question! What fab reclamation centre did Toby use on this weeks Gardener’s World?
We’ve had these gorgeous little birds coming to our garden for the past two years. They usually come in groups of 6+ and will be around and about the garden for most of the day throughout winter and spring. They tend to eat from the fat balls we put out. Occasionally they will take sunflower hearts from the seed feeders. I live in Runcorn, Cheshire.
we have had them for the past few years here in our garden in Bristol. They come in small flocks of 15 or more. My favourite bird.
These lovely little birds are often in our garden in Holmfirth, West Yorkshire.They eat the seeds off the bird table, but are usually looking for insects on branches & twigs.
I see long-tailed tits frequently in my mid-Wales garden – except for the weekend of the big bird count in January. Then all the birds seem to disappear, only to return when its all over!
We have been putting out bird feeders containing seeds and nuts and occasionally fat balls for years but have never seen long-tailed tits visiting the garden until this year when for the first time we filled one of the feeders with suet pellets containing either insect bits or berries. Now they arrive daily, usually in pairs, but they only take the pellets. They are really pretty.
We’ve had a family of 5 all feeding off the peanut feeder at the same time this Winter(North East England). I wasn’t sure what they were to start with as they were the standard form rather than the “northern form”. I haven’t seen any over the last month or so.
I’ve seen some interesting birds on my London inner-city balcony, despite its position next to an extremely busy railway line – can anyone help me to identify the third picture? I think it’s a green finch but I’m not sure – any comments much appreciated!
http://londonvegetablegarden.blogspot.com/2009/04/new-arrivals-at-london-vegetable-garden.html
Reply to everyone.
It’s obviously true that these birds are spreading. Thanks for all the comments. I’m still left wondering what the birds in the Isle of Wight were doing bashing themselves on the glass. Perhaps ornithologists don’t read the GW blog. I’m just back from the IoW and although we stayed in a different holiday cottage, there were more birds banging on the windows — a chaffinch this time.
Reply to Callum.
It certainly looks like a green finch to me.
The group of 6 or so long talied tits in my garden regularly go around the windows stopping to peck at each one. At first I thought there might be small insects on the wooden frames but it is definitely the glass they are pecking. although they are flock birds I believe they are also territorial so my theory is that they are checking out what they see as newcomers. I’d be very interested to hear an expert’s view.
We have a flock of 7 that visit the garden as part of their regular food trail, and they love the forsythia for the bugs on it – one reason James should keep it maybe?
It is only in the last year or so that long tailed tits have been visiting my garden and using the peanut feeder and seed feeders. But there favourites are definitely the fat balls hanging in an elder tree just outside the back door – they will happily feed there when I am sitting a few feet away on the patio.