Loving Long-tailed Tits

I've been amazed at how brave the Long-tailed tits have been over the past few days...

Just today, stood out on the balcony, one chap landed on the railing about one metre away and proceeded to chatter away to himself whilst I carried on chatting; before this, a gorgeous Long-tailed tit sat on the fat cake in the Wildlife Garden as I stood at the edge of the balcony (around half a metre away!). I've stood next to a tree as Long-tailed tits built a nest in this same tree, and I've been watching them literally ten centimetres away from my face just by staying still for two minutes. One did come a little too close and looked absolutely terrified when it realised what I was (rather rude, I thought to myself), but I've been so privileged to see these birds up close lately that I just wanted to highlight these amazing birds. I'll try to not include any more superlatives in the rest of this blogpost, too.

Long-tailed tits are definitely small birds (don't ask me about precise measurements, all I know is they're small!), but their tails make them appear even smaller by being longer than their body, which is very round in shape. They can be very noisy, so have a look at the RSPB's profile of the bird by clicking on the hyperlink at the start of this post and have a listen to them. 

Both the male and the female make the nest, and the result is incredibly interesting to see - you can usually make out a roof, and an entrance hole, with the nest itself being constructed from moss, cobwebs, and lichen. Only a bird as small and as delicate as a Long-tailed tit could work with cobwebs as a building material. The nest is then lined with as many as 1,500 feathers; this is luxury living for Long-tailed tit chicks! The nest is really stretchy so that it can expand as all of the chicks grow and grow - and there are a lot off chicks! Normally between eight and twelve, so things can get pretty warm in there! Another great thing about these birds is that it's not only the parents that help raise the chicks. Other family members help if they've lost a nest, and so the chicks that are raised are very well looked after. Long-tailed tits tend to stay with their family, which is why you'll tend to see groups of them instead of just one or two.

I feel rather knowledgeable now after all that information! If you ever get the chance to see the nest of a Long-tailed tit I'm sure you'll agree that they're amazing - they look so delicate and fragile, and yet they protect up to 12 chicks! We have a pair (mentioned in Angela's blogpost from yesterday) building one at the moment, near the visitor centre, which we're getting excited about. And if you're in the visitor centre itself, make sure you have a look at the nest box cam in the classroom. Tree Sparrows have started to bring material in and to tidy it all up, so come and see how they're doing before it's all over - see you soon!