Great excitement yesterday for Catlady!

I love seeing the photos and reading all the stories that others post. Like some I have a garden tick list and had 26 different birds that have come to the garden. All over the UK we will all have some of the same species that came to the garden, and depending where we live, we will all have different ones. I love seeing the Long Tail Tits, some of the photos have been fantastic and I so wished that we had them away up here in Caithness, apart from never having seen one in the garden, I had never seen them at all. That was until yesterday!!!!! Mr. CL said to me, there are some of those birdies back at the feeder. We have a big garden but the part where the feeders and baths/drinkers are, are literally 4-5 feet from the kitchen and garage window. When I looked out there was a pair of Great Tits on the peanut feeder, I watched for a few seconds and as I turned something caught my eye. I could see a long tail but nothing else and thought it was the same as I had seen but when it moved I could not believe my eyes. A Long Tail Tit, oh my goodness the excitement, there were more, my iPad was on charge so I grabbed it and took some photos from the garage window but a bit too far away, so out I went and came round to the back thinking they would fly away, but no they just teet, teet, teeted and stayed. There were at least 6 maybe some more, all flitting about the bushes, they were so fast I could not get a decent photo, just as one flew to the top of the bushes and another went onto a feeder, I clicked and they flew!! Not very good photos at all but I had them and was so excited, I think you can tell! Tick list now at 27.

  • Excellent! I wonder where they've been hiding all this time. Hope they stay in the area for you
  • Thanks everyone, well no sign of them since. I had contacted an ornithologist friend to report the sighting, he told me that although quite rare to have them here, they had been seen on occasion further up the village and in the local woodland a mile away! Now that they have found my food source, fingers crossed they return.
  • Wonderful news, Catlady! LTTs are such delightful little birds and I hope they visit you again. Seeing them in the garden is often a matter of luck since they never stay long. You have to be looking out at just the right few seconds or you will miss them but they do visit several times per day, usually in groups but we have seen birds apparently on their own. Those we've seen over several decades eat only from our fat/suet block feeders and ignore everything else.
  • Really pleased for you Catlady I was so exited every time I saw a bird I had not seen before but when I saw a barn owl that really took some beating for me.
    Have you got the champagne out yet ? Lol
  • Lynn L said:
    Thanks everyone, well no sign of them since. I had contacted an ornithologist friend to report the sighting, he told me that although quite rare to have them here, they had been seen on occasion further up the village and in the local woodland a mile away! Now that they have found my food source, fingers crossed they return.

    They'll be back, keep the feed out for them.

    We find here they seem to prefer the suet pellets and suet balls.