Thursday 13 November 2014

Todays Tiny Visitor.


Very damp and overcast weather today so I resorted to a bit of wildlife watching through the dining room window which initially only produced brief views of Blackbird, Woodpigeon, two Blue Tits and a Greenfinch that are regular visitors plus a couple of Great Tits that have appeared in the last few days.

Then after about an hour of total avian inactivity I was surprised but delighted to see a Coal Tit (Periparus ater) working its way through the the branches of the hawthorn, then quickly flitting down to the seed feeder before returning to the safety of the nearly bare, thorny branches to consume its snack.
This small passerine in the tit family Paridae is a common and widespread resident breeder throughout coniferous and mixed woodland but only very occasionally recorded in our garden, usually during the winter months.

A rear view clearly showing the rectangular white patch that extends from the top of its black head to its neck always helps to distinguish it from the slightly larger Willow and Marsh Tit. This little fellow returned to the garden several times today so I took the opportunity to stand outside and finally managed a clear shot through the branches.

Looking forward to more visits from this tiny Tit throughout the coming months.  

During the early afternoon other visitors were a Robin, Dunnock, Carrion Crow, a male Chaffinch (another rarity on the garden list) and a Sparrowhawk flew in, perched briefly on the fence behind the shed, and immediately took off as all its small prey had disappeared into hiding. FAB.

13 comments:

  1. so darn cute. i love watching our tiny chickadees flitting about and chattering away.

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  2. great shots...for being via the dining room :)

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  3. Nice! Very much like our chickadees!

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  4. So cute, They have such chubby little bodies.

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  5. I was thinking the same as earlier commenters, it looks almost like our chickadees. Very nice photo.

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  6. Reminds me of our Carolina Chickadees. Precious little bird!

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  7. HI Frank I have a lot of Cola Tit come to my garden but they move so fast I rarely ever get a good shot of them so you did well. Love how the light makes different shapes on the tree and brings out different textures. Have a great weekend.

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  8. They are some of the sweetest wee birds, beautiful Frank. Take care~

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  9. A lovely visitor to have in the garden Frank...not while that Sprawk is about though!!....[;o)

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  10. Beautiful photos. This bird looks a lot like our provincial bird here in New Brunswick - the Black Capped Chickadee. Thank you for visiting and commenting on my fence photos.

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  11. One of my favourite visitors. They just get on feeding and storing food and never bother other birds.

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I hope you enjoyed your visit and I always appreciate your comments and feedback.

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