The terrible uninspiring weather has continued aplomb giving the lethargic me plenty of excuses not to get out. Today seems different but I’ve stayed in to finish some academic work. Guess i’m in training for self-isolation! I did manage to get out a couple of days ago to both my local hotspots for some wildlife watching, this was to try (in vain it turned out) to try and see a spring migrant (bird) or a newly emerged insect (bee or a butterfly). Whilst I heard a bee I didn’t see anything else (the hope was to hear a Chiffchaff which re-appears around this time every Spring). The most obvious bird of the day is the subject of today’s post.
What: Blue Tit Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758)
When: 11th March 2020
Where: Jackson’s Brickworks, Cheshire, UK (amongst others)
Who saw it? Me.
How was it recorded? Using the eBird app (which I had to reinstall on site due to it glitching – not good)
Is it bigger than a blackbird? No, a lot smaller.
What is it? Some would describe it as a ‘starter bird,’ one that absolutely everyone knows (in the UK at least). These are the birds you nail a bird box onto a tree or a side of a house for. They adore bird feeders and are highly visible. But for those who don’t know they are a small member of the tit family (or chickadee if you’re American) which is predominantly blue in colour on its back and wings with a yellow breast. It has a white face with a black ‘bandit’s mask’ across its eyes. They possess a small black bill, ideal for seeds and capturing caterpillars for their young. They are very vocal and possess a wide variety of calls (not as much as it’s relative the Great Tit Parus major which has millions of calls and songs it seems).
A fact you may not know: (changed the heading for today only!) They are incredibly aggresive as anyone who has handled one will testify. They love to bite and kick up a huge fuss in the hand (I’ve handled a few when assisting people who ring/band the birds). If they were the same size as humans they would rule the world no doubt!
Are they charismatic in my opinion? Yes, oh god yes. They are a gateway bird for a reason, everyone knows them, no one thinks ill of them and I’m guessing a lot of people have put up a bird box up for them. They are incredibly agile, can cling to anything and are intelligent. When most people in the UK had their milk delivered to their doorstep blue tits learned how to exploit the milk bottles. They learned how to peck through the foil tops in order to get to the cream on top of the bottle (no idea why though, birds don’t do dairy surely?!). Very charismatic.
A Species a Day 