I have been watching a pair of long-tailed tits building their nest from around the 20th March, I cordoned the area off so there was no disturbance and every couple of days sat nearby and watched there coming and goings, by the first week in April it went quiet so I wasn’t sure if it had been predated but I still kept an eye on the area.
Later that week there was more activity so I knew they were still visiting the nest making it ready.
I bought a cheap popup hide of the internet and set it up a few meters away whilst they were both of foraging when they returned they weren’t bothered by its presence so I just kept an eye on it.
Last week I noticed for the first time they were coming back with food, not a great deal so I figured the eggs had started to hatch.
Yesterday The 30th April I brought my camera out of hibernation and with 2 people in the hides spent some time in the popup hide to see what I could capture.
I plan another day very soon as I know they don’t take long to fledge, usually 14-18 days with usually 8 to 12 eggs.
The nest is built of lichen, spiders webs and lined with feathers, as many as 1500 and is placed about 4ft off the ground in a bramble thicket.
The spider’s webs make the nest stretchy so as they grow the nest grows with them so they all don’t fall out.
At the moment they are returning every 10 to 15 minutes and look like very good parents providing lots of bugs, caterpillars, and insects.
I placed two perches nearby, one either side of the bramble bush and I just listen for them coming back as they call frequently, then get ready with the camera.
Sometimes they fly straight in, other times land on the perch then fly in, so it’s a guessing game to which perch to focus on and they catch me out every other time but every 15 mins or so they come back for me to have another go.
I think it will get busier as more hatch out so I will have more opportunities to photograph them.
Here is a selection from yesterday.
Leave a reply