The Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) is probably one of the UKs most recognisable garden and bird feeder visitors. Their colourful mix of blue, yellow, white and green plumage makes them easy to identify. In winter (when bird feeders are at their most popular) they can be commonly seen in flocks, often associating with other similar small birds.
A very long time ago I worked on a nature reserve and we were banding / ringing around the bird feeders. By the end of the day we had banded close to 100 Blue Tits - along with two Great Spotted Woodpekers, and many other woodland birds. But what was remarkable was the number of un-banded birds that were still using the feeders. We estimated that no more than 1/3rd of the Blue Tits that were around the feeders, meaning that the total population utilising the feeders was bout 300 birds! Remarkable.
It estimated that there are over 4 million pairs of these birds in the British Isles, with Blue Tits being most abundant in woodlands that contain oak trees.
The Blue Tit belongs to a family of birds called the Paridae. Eurasian and African members of this family are referred to as "tits", while North American species are generally called "chickadees".
They are without question a delightful and popular little bird.
As you can see, some of these birds have been banded (although not by me!). These birds were feeding on the nut feeders outside of the main office of the RSPB reserve at Minsmere, in Suffolk. As these pictures were taken on late in the afternoon in mid-February I suspect the birds were feeding up for a long, dark and cold night.
As ever, to join in with WBW click on the link below. Cheers SM.
Beautiful photos, ❤️ Stewart!!! Thank you so much for sharing. 😊 I hope you are doing well.
ReplyDeleteI finally have a bird shot and can link up with WWW again! I hope you are well.
ReplyDeleteThat is a striking bird Stewart! I look forward to meeting with you and the others here every week. Thank you for being a pleasantness in my life at a challenging time. My husband is in hospice care with dementia. We have been together over 40 years more than half of My life. So I do appreciate the joy and the respite. Aloha friend
ReplyDeleteSuch interesting and busy little birds!
ReplyDeleteWe do not have Blue Tits in the US although through blog posts from my birder friends I am quite familiar with them..Cute little bird!!
ReplyDeleteHari OM
ReplyDeleteThey are a firm favourite at garden feeders, no doubt about them! YAM xx
Yes Stewart A delightful little bird in colouring and antics. it was the first bird i learned as a bird watching and it was always the first bird I taught how to recognise 'birds'. These are delightful photographs and brings back many happy memories of me watching them on my feeders in N.Ireland. Thanks for hosting and commenting. I hope you have a pleasant week ahead
ReplyDeleteA lovely little sprite.
ReplyDeleteHi Stewart, excellent photos of the blue tit. We see them here too. A cute little bird.
ReplyDeleteCute little guys. Who knows, maybe I'll see one someday.
ReplyDeleteA lovely little bird. It's fun to watch. Thanks for the great photos.
ReplyDeleteThey are adorable. We don’t have them here in Virginia.
ReplyDeleteLovely photos of a very tiny bird. They and the great tit is common in sweden.
ReplyDeleteBlue tits are wonders, they were some of the very first birds I ever got to photograph when I was a teenager. Sadly I see them a lot less often in the place where I live.
ReplyDeleteI’ve always loved Blue Tits. They’re such lively little characters, and your story really brings that to life. It’s amazing to think of hundreds of them all using the feeders at once. The detail about banding really adds a sense of scale and dedication to conservation.
ReplyDeletewww.melodyjacob.com