Blue Tit with overgrown upper mandible plus other birds and squirrels

don't think there would be any other way to capture it and get it help Wendy;   the main problem we have though with mist nets are the pesky squirrels which the minute they see food are there !   I have three terrorising the front garden area, clinging to the non perch feeder which is the only one without a guardian  lol     Little s*ds !    No food goes on ground apart from mild cheddar cheese which the corvids can pick up quickly, only put some food on the logs (stumpery) and the minute I do the Cyrils appear from all over the place !    They are taking over the country lol  

That's a very interesting bit of research, Hazel. The first inkling of what might be the root cause of the deformity although what could be done about it is another matter. I suppose if the growth is keratin (similar to our finger nails) then I suppose in theory it could be trimmed but whether it's practical is debatable. It will be interesting to see what the BTO say.

Morning Tony,  it does look like a lot of research has been and is being done to understand beak deformity in birds and BTO were interested in the photos as they thought this was quite a severe case so will forward the photos the garden birdwatch side ( I have already submitted two reports as part of the weekly birdwatch scheme and also casual reporting when there is something more interesting to report).    All the data helps get a feeling for how widespread these problems are in birds and also the location.    I'll let you know if they come back to me again.      

You do seem to get more than your fair share of birds with problems. Perhaps it's just the fact that you get more birds in your garden than most of us.

I don't recall seeing any birds with beak abnormalities or much in the way of disease. I only recall seeing one incidence of Leucism and that was on a Jackdaw which had some white feathers on its wings. I remember too that I had one bird with a tick - a Greenfinch I think.

It would be interesting to know whether they was any geographical correlation with the prevalence of abnormalities and disease or if it's randomly distributed over the country as a whole.

I read another report via  birding forum about beak abnormality in a blue tit and that was also Cheshire area so would be interesting to see the breakdown throughout UK area.   Of course, it's only an indication as not many people send in their sightings or BTO report.   I tend to spend a lot of time watching the garden birds and with a large garden I see more instances of diseases.    When I look at the reports it looks like I have a garden full of sick birds but when taken into context, we have more species and numbers than average garden so stands to reason we will encounter more birds who have problems.   I think the more information passed back to BTO the better as I'm sure there are a lot more problems out there if only they had data forwarded.    I have the time to do it whereas most folk are in full time work or busy with kids, etc,    no excuse for me   lol  

Update this morning on the advice I requested from BTO :

"In general we don't recommend treatment for wild birds, even if you could catch it - and I'm not sure you could guarantee that it wouldn't grow again, as this probably wouldn't treat the underlying cause. Since the bird appears to be in good condition it's clearly managing well, so I wouldn't think that this warrants catching the bird on welfare grounds. I would say the best thing to do for this bird would be to continue providing an easily accessible food source".

Sensible advice from the BTO as usual. Although our instincts are to want to help a bird with a condition like this it's often better to let nature take its course.

Yes, I agree Tony;    as you say our instincts are always wanting to find a remedy but it is possible the beak will grow again and it would put the bird through stress for a temporary fix.     The advice BTO give is always reliable and thus I tend to follow it.

Well the little bluey has lasted well so far I suppose,  so there's no reason to think it wouldn't survive the coming months.   Look at the X-beak blackbird that visited here for quite a number of years, and brought up so many young and fed them with that funny beak of his.   Somehow they adapt to feeding themselves and are really tough little creatures, have to be to live out in this peculiar climate.  I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for it anyhow Hazy.

Thanks Gaynor, as you say birds seem to be expert in the face of adversity and hopefully with easy food on tap it should be able to keep that good condition, fingers crossed.    I remember X-beak Blackbird well, such a lovely bird who did amazingly well.