Hi greyjaybee
If it looked like a Blue Tit then that's probably what it was. Beak deformities are more common than people think. Take a look at some of the images on the BTO website which have been sent in for their Big Garden Beak Watch survey.
www.bto.org/.../gallery
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Tony
My Flickr Photostream
Gosh, thanks....who'd have thought it...some of those are quite extraordinary. Do we have any understanding of why this occurs. Might it have anything to do with the wide use of chemicals in the countryside ?
That has been suggested as one possible cause but is unproven and from what I've read it's far more complicated than that. There's a bit about causes on the same BTO website ....
www.bto.org/.../causes
........ and there's a link to some joint research with a scientist in Alaska which you might find interesting to show how uncertain the causes are.
www.bto.org/.../bt65_lr_20-21.pdf
Checking that out...poor creatures. Thanks TeeJay. :)