Species - Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus)
Location - Various
Grid ref - Various
During the winter months I keep my bird feeder topped up, and the most common visitor to it, is definitely the Blue Tit, with their favourite food being the Sunflower hearts.
Blue Tits are easily distinguishable from their close cousins the Great Tit, as the Blue Tit are smaller and has the dark band across its eyes and looks a bit like a Zoro mask whereas the Great Tit has a distinctive black head and white cheeks.
Blue Tits are none migratory and can be seen all year around, and it’s always pleasing to see several of them at a time hanging off my bird feeder or the Goat Willow tree I have to the rear of my house. Blue Tit numbers have increased in recent years possibly helped by the provision of nest boxes and bird feeders. and there are more than 2.5 million that have been ringed in Britain and Ireland. Domestic cats are a major cause of mortality, and responsible for 42% of ringing recoveries. Indeed I regularly see next doors cat sitting watching my feeder and require either the services of my pet dog or the hosepipe to see it off.
