It was a big surprise to see a whole family of long-tailed tits on our Sunday walk. One of the collective nouns for a flock of long-tailed tits is a “zephyr”. How appropriate. The dictionary definition is “a gentle, mild breeze” and the term is associated with anything of a fine, light quality. These tiny birds are what you would imagine fairies would choose to ride on. They appear like magic, enveloping you in their high-pitched contact calls before melting into the tree canopy.
While the flying teaspoons on my local patch have remained hidden from view in recent weeks, the birds on this walk were remarkably confiding. I am assuming that, with the fledglings focussed on begging for food and the parents desperately trying to get them fed, this family weren’t paying attention to me and my partner gawping at them. I have never seen long-tailed tit fledglings before – and I was fast giving up hope of seeing any this year – so this was a memorable encounter for me.
As you can imagine, I captured plenty of images and these are some of my favourites. As usual, these birds were buzzing in and out of the tree branches and much of the action was taking place behind the foliage. I used back-button focus to lock on to the fledglings through the leaves.
Long-tailed tits are lovely to look at and lovely-natured too. They will maintain their flocks, often made up of close relatives, even throughout the breeding season. They are cooperative breeders, meaning that if a pair fails to breed they will go and help with a relative’s nest instead. This behaviour makes complete sense, as it helps to ensure the survival of the flock, but I can’t help thinking that it simply makes them even more adorable.
Long-tailed tits nest in bushes or the forks of trees and their constructions are covered with lichen and interwoven with cobwebs. The time taken for the male and female long-tailed tits to build their nest will depend on how early in the season they start the build. If it is early in the season, they can take around three weeks but they can throw one together in less than a week if they are running late. DIY SOS would be proud!