On 2013-04-23 08:49:49 +0100, kay said:

'Sacha[_10_ Wrote:
;981583']

I'm pretty sure David's correct and it was a Coal Tit. I'll look out
for it again but as it was a bit obscured by a climbing rose's stems,
we couldn't get a clear look at it. But the Coal tit sounds much more
likely. Thanks, Kay.
-

Coal tits are massively more common than marsh tits and willow tits.
They're in our garden every day, and bolder than the other tits in
coming to the feeder and fats closest to the window. I can never get
used to the idea that other gardeners may not have seen them - I must
look up their distribution - maybe they're commoner in the north?

Long-tailed tits are another that we have daily in the garden, yet I
know other people have never had them.

I don't recall seeing a coal tit here before, though we get great tits
and blue tits frequently. As you know, we saw long-tailed tits for the
first time last year (or maybe the year before, I lose track of time
here!) and we've seen bullfinches only occasionally. The blue tits
used to be here in huge numbers, then it declined and now seems to be
coming up again, at least a bit. Our most numerous birds are sparrows,
blackbirds, rooks, jackdaws and chaffinches. Last year, blackbird
numbers had dropped considerably but seem to be up again this year. We
often see or hear a woodpecker and there are lots of buzzards round
here too.
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk