We have seen long-tailed tits in our garden and watermeadow all year round from the Big Garden Birdwatch in January, till now as winter approaches. They tend to fly around in groups, especially in the winter, and we saw ten when I took this photo, flitting around amongst the branches. They love the smaller trees and bushes, so are well-suited for gardens and hedgerows, as well as the scrubby wetland habitat. In the trees and bushes they hunt for small insects and spiders.
The defining features of long-tailed tits are the long, slim tail in black and white; round pink belly and black eye-stripes, like bushy eyebrows.
Their mossy nests are works of intricacy, taking around three weeks to build. They are domed to keep in the heat, insulated with up to 1500 tiny feathers – the little birds can work out how many they need for an optimum temperature – and heavily disguised with lichen. Cobwebs are used as both glue for the lichen and elastic when woven in with the moss to provide expansion as the brood grows. They nest deep in thorny bushes, like bramble and hawthorn, or in the forks of trees and once the leaves are out, the nests are very hard to spot. If I ever manage to see one, I will definitely post a photo!