If you have a garden, the chances are, you may spot some blue tits there! Watching them always cheers me up! These tiny birds are full of colour and character, and very acrobatic, able to hang from feeders and branches to collect food. When we were children, we used to hang out strings threaded with monkey nuts, which the tits would happily hang on and crack open the shells. They were also known for stealing the cream off the top of milk bottles. My milk bottles seem to have escaped this fate so far, so maybe they prefer full fat bottles!
They take very readily to nest boxes, which replicate the cavities in trees, that they otherwise prefer.
Traditional wisdom suggests you should put up your bird boxes in Winter, so that the birds have time to get used to them. However we finally got around to putting up a three-hole sparrow box in Spring last year, and within just half an hour, we had a pair of blue tits checking them out thoroughly! They moved in soon afterwards.
It may then not be too late if you want to buy or make a nest box, while you are isolating at home! Make sure you position it so that it’s not in full sun, and the birds have a direct route in and out, but not somewhere that predators can reach it. The hole should ideally be 25mm for blue tits.
Some birds have several broods throughout the year, but blue tits only get one chance at it. They have to time their brood, for the explosion in caterpillar numbers.
In March the birds get busy flirting with each other, and feeding themselves up. We currently have three birds, flitting about with each other and trying to lay claim on the end of the terrace box! By April the female will be busy making the nest warm and cosy, while her mate flits about supervising closely to make sure she doesn’t get any better offers. In May the female lays an egg each day, quite an effort for such a tiny bird. She can lay up to a dozen all together.
I’m getting used to the persistent cheep cheeps of the birds, chasing each other around and going into their nest, next to my window. I really can’t think of any more entertaining neighbours, as I slave away in my home office!
You can read more about blue tits and their nests and young here
If you have a favourite garden bird or creature, do let us know all about it!
