Long-tailed tits

I've always prided myself on the ability to be able to attract birds into my garden. I like to supply a variety of tasty treats in order to tempt them into the garden no matter the time of year. In recent weeks though there hasn't been a single bird about. No collared doves swinging on the seed feeder. No sparrows lining up on the fence ready to swoop in flocks of four or five. Even the devoted blackbird couple have gone missing. I wondered what had happened and the only thing I could think of was that as this autumn had been so mild there was an abundance of food about and the warmer weather had meant less energy used in keeping warm.

It was a great relief when I spotted three collared doves pecking away at the seed feeder. Their appearance also coincided with some long-tailed tits making a visit. Not only are long-tailed tits easily identifiable by their long tails but also because they go about in family flocks. They are fluffy balls of feathers with a dirty white colour and flashes of dusky pink. Usually there's at least five or six birds flying about made up of parents and siblings. The first time they appeared it was such a dark day I didn't bother getting my camera out and I was just pleased to see them. Then they came again on a brighter day. Of course with so much rain recently my patio windows are filthy and my long lens is not the fastest at focusing on these little acrobats so the photos are not the clearest.

What was noticeable about the long-tailed tits was that they weren't interested in any of the food I had put out. Up and down the trees in the garden they went searching for little insects. They hung upside down on the Golden Spirit tree, munched their way through the branches of the flowering currant and then flew over to the hydrangea. It just goes to show that sometimes the best way to feed the birds it to simply have a space with plants and trees in.

Do the birds visit your garden? Have you noticed a drop in bird numbers recently?