Long-tailed tits

[nanila]

[Long-tailed tit on a toroid fat ball feeder, executing a bow.]

Our new fat ball feeder has been brilliant for attracting even more of the bird population of our village. It may, however, bankrupt us as it takes 10 fat balls at a time and currently has to be refilled every three days.


[Pair of long-tailed tits on opposite sides of the feeder.]


[One more close-up of the bowing tit, who was showing off beautifully.]

All images can be clicked to embiggen.

Comments

[spiralsheep]

I love long tailed tits' sociable groups as they fly chattering through the trees. Our annual visitation of redwings has arrived and been perching in the ivy outside my window.

[nanila]

Redwings! We see them and the goldfinches in the field over the canal, but haven't managed to tempt them into the garden. We got a new nyjer/thistle seed feeder but no one is taking notice of it yet...

[spiralsheep]

The redwings here seem to be surprisingly picky and only seek shelter and rowan berries. All the year-round birds have much more obviously varied sources of food. I'm only semi-rural here though so I never, for example, see fieldfares in with the redwings.

[nanila]

Hm, I shall have to check our bird log to see if the bloke has spotted any fieldfares. I haven't, but my eyesight is not as good as his so I have to use binoculars to ensure correct identification, and I haven't been looking for them.

Also, posting about the new feeder seems to have done the trick! Today we saw goldfinches on it. \o/

[el1ie]

Such pretty little birds and you've captured them beautifully and in such detail. Thanks for sharing.

[nanila]

Thank you! Yes, they're lovely dainty things, and normally rather shy. But they love this new fat ball feeder so much they'll stay on it even when I'm standing on the garden path, which they never used to do.

[shirebound]

I've never seen a feeder like that. The birds need to drop off dollar bills at your door to help pay for it.

[nanila]

I got it from the RSPB web site. The birds seem to really love the shape. We have a traditional cylindrical feeder (holds three fat balls), but it doesn't get so much attention now that we've got this one.

Our neighbours have commented on how lovely it is to look over the fence and see the birds. We were thinking of putting out a collection box...!

[turlough]

Oooh, long-tailed tits! I've only ever seen them high up in the trees, never as close as this. They're so cute! (From afar they look a bit like a golf ball on a stick :-)

[nanila]

Yes, they are! I love seeing them. Our cat is forbidden from hunting them. I'm not sure he knows this, but he hasn't managed to catch one yet, so he's not in trouble. :P

[felis]

Great pictures, thank you! I've never seen one of these in our garden (not rural enough probably), but reading up on them now I realized that they don't actually belong to the same family as the more common tits we get around here (great and blue). The more you know. :D

[nanila]

I had to go and look on the RSPB web site after reading your comment. They seem to be in a family of their own! Fascinating. Thanks for sharing.