Long-tailed tit with a twiglet for the nest...
I’m a bit worried about “counting my chickens” but if I’m not mistaken the long-tailed tits have set up house in a conifer near my study window. For a week or so now they seem to have been taking in nesting materials and I have managed to snap a few pictures.
Long-tailed tit with some moss for the nest...
One has just gone in with a big fluffy white feather in its beak, having wandered around for a bit first as if the chirping from the bush meant hang on a minute, we’re not ready for you yet…
The final touch - feathers...
The long-tailed tits used to be a rarity in the garden but they have become more frequent visitors over the years and they especially seem to like the slabs of peanut cake with insects I put out for them.
Long-tailed tit with something in its beak - either a feather for the nest or a moth snack...
Glimpse of a long-tailed tit in the conifer where the nest is being built...
Until now I have not been able to catch a decent picture of the long-tailed tits (Aegithalos caudatus rosaceous). They just WILL not sit still for more than a few seconds and have had an annoying habit or arriving noisily very early and late in the day, when the daylight is breaking or dusky.
A slightly unfocussed long-tailed tit...
You can’t blame them for looking so busy. They have SO much to do. According to Discover Wildlife…
“The nest is a soft dome constructed from thousands of pieces of moss stuck together by strands of cobweb. It is sprinkled with lichen fragments for protection and stuffed with feathers for insulation. The nest takes about three weeks to build and, when finished, will house an average of eight young.”
A lovely image of a long-tailed tit and typical nest (this one is covered with lichen) from Discover Wildlife...
There seem to be more than just two of the birds building this nest. Apparently they are very sociable creatures.
Long-tailed tits tend to hang around in bunches... this image is from Country Life
A newly-fledged long-tailed tit in the garden in June 2010
Pretty pink long-tailed tits from pictureblinds.co.uk
According to All the Birds of the Air by Francesca Greenoak, there are many delightful nicknames for the long-tailed tit, such as:
From its plumage:
Long-tailed Mag; Long-pod (Midlands)
Long-tailed Pie; French Pie; Dog-tail (Cheshire)
Long-tailed Chittering
Long-tailed Mufflin
Mumruffin; Hedge Mumruffin (Worcestershire, Shropshire)
Ragamuffin
Juffit; Fuffit (East Lothian)
From its nest:
Jack-in-a-bottle; Bottle Tom
Bottle Tit (West Riding, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Shropshire)
Bag (Northamptonshire)
Poke Pudding; Poke Bag (Gloucestershire, Shropshire)
Pudding Bag (Norfolk)
Puddney Poke (Suffolk)
Feather Poke
Oven Bird; Oven Builder (Stirling)
Oven’s Nest (Northamptonshire)
Bum Barrel (Nottinghamshire)
Bush Oven (Norfolk)
Can Bottle (Shropshire)
Hedge Jug
Others include:
Bum Towel (Devon)
Bellringer (Kirkcudbright)
Millithrum = Miller’s Thumb
Nimble Tailor
Prinpriddle
Rotund little things, aren't they? I think I shall call them bum barrels...
The Squirrelbasket 
Dear Pat – thanks for reminding us of one of the delights of spring! Among the things I long for in the deep of winter is the sounds that the birds make, the chirping, tweeting, and singing which is somehow so companionable. When I hear the birds I feel that all is right with the world. How colorless it would be without them! What a pretty nest in the illustration! And how interesting to read of the names folks give the long-tailed tit in various parts of the country. Do you put out bits of embroidery wool, etc. for the birds? Cheers, Marianne
Well the birds are certainly noisy at the moment. Every day as soon as it’s light I hear the great spotted woodpecker tapping in the garden, and the blackbirds and robins are here permanently. As are the blue tits, coal tits and great tits, which all have a distinctive call when I put the bird food out in the morning, to all their friends, saying breakfast time!
I don’t put out embroidery wool etc, as I wouldn’t be sure I knew what I was doing – although I have some old unused craft materials, so maybe I’ll think about it. They seem to be finding plenty of materials in the garden OK. At the moment there is a succession of white feathers going in…
Best wishes
x
I see that my editing has produced a grammatical error. Should read “Among the things I long for…….ARE the sounds that the birds make….” Perhaps I should have had that second cup of coffee!! Cheers, Marianne
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