Blue Tits

Blue Tits - Cyanistes caeruleus - Podcast

Blue Tits

A flash of blue and yellow,

A bright and beady eye,

A song of chirping cheerfulness,

A flitting from the sky.

A family flock of chatter,

A search for grubs and seeds,

A checking out of nesting sites,

A desire to meet all needs.

A one and only mate for life,

A faithful tiny bird,

A ‘tsee’ and ‘tsu’ of hope and dreams,

A song that you have heard.

A sailor’s comfort nearing home,

A soul carrier who sings,

A reminder of a task forgot,

A sign of better things.

A cute and friendly bird,

A colour festival,

A Blue Tit in the garden,

Is the best of all.

These colourful tiny birds bring such joy to my garden and life as they flit and chatter from a seed filled mug to our wonderful old apple tree. They carry the seeds to the mossy branches and crack them open before zipping back for another. They are the first to arrive when I start filling the teacup and mug feeders, calling to let others know, and they perch closer and closer to me, but they are not yet brave enough to take seeds from my hands. One day.

The Blue Tit is easy to recognise due to the blue cap, blue wings, yellow, white, and green plumage, and black eye stripes. Like most birds, Blue Tits can see ultra-violet light and studies show that the blue crown on their heads glows brightly under UV light. The males are attracted to females with brighter blue crowns as they seem to be better mothers and as they mate for life, they need to be sure. Young Blue Tits have more greenish-brown upper parts and yellowish cheeks.

They are about 12cm in length with a wingspan of 18cm and they weigh 11 grams. They can live up to three years and tend to gather in family flocks, often joining with other Tit species, in the winter as they search for food. If you see four or five Blue Tits at a feeder at the same time, there are probably about twenty enjoying the feast you are providing. They love to eat seeds, nuts, insects, caterpillars, larvae, and fruit, so they are welcome visitors in food gardens as they keep plant pests in check. In the past they were famous for taking the cream from the top of milk bottles left on the doorstep after breaking through the foil tops. I’m sure they would do this again if given the opportunity.

The Blue Tit is a woodland bird, although it is very happy to nest in our gardens too. They like to nest in holes in trees, one year we had some in a hollow of an old plum tree. Nest boxes with small openings are ideal for this tiny bird, especially when orientated to the NE and tipped slightly forward so rain does not enter the entrance. They nest between March and June, often checking out ten possible sites before picking one. Sometimes they start several nests only to abandon them for reasons its hard to see. Once they have found a site they are happy with they will return to it the next year. The female builds a cup of moss, leaves, hair, and grass which is then lined with feathers, down and hair. I shall be emptying my hairbrush in the garden from now on. I like the idea that the babies may be snuggling in something I have contributed. We have plenty of moss for them in our garden on the tree, in the grass and around our pond. I do hope they find suitable nesting sites this year.

Between seven and twelve eggs are laid, these are white with variable purple-red or reddish brown speckles. The female incubates them alone for twelve to sixteen days, but both parents feed and tend to the hatchlings needs for the following fifteen to twenty-three days in the nest before encouraging them to venture outside. The young birds are independent after just four weeks. Blue Tits have one or two broods depending on the availability of food. Feeding garden birds with seeds all year is not a problem as the parents will only feed insects, spiders, caterpillars, and maybe some fruit to their young.

They have two songs. One is a scolding ‘tsee-tsee-tsee’ sound which is common when we see them in our gardens as they are no doubt asking us to leave them to eat in peace. Once they have had their fill of free food, they will happily sing a cheery ‘tsutsu-tsu’. I listen for both these sounds as I sit in my writing hut and am beginning to distinguish them from the other bird songs filling the air.

The Blue Tit symbolises love, faith, hope, and honour and represent the best things in life. Sailors saw Blue Tits as good luck as it meant they were close to land, safety, and their families. It is associated with the arrival of a brighter future, which bodes well as I am seeing them everywhere I cycle and in all the gardens I visit. And we are due a brighter future.

As they mate for life, unless one partner dies, they are associated with faithfulness and strength of partnership and love. What a wonderful little bird. For me they symbolise happiness as when I see them they lift my spirits and I smile.

In the past Blue Tits were thought to be connected with the gods and the souls of people who had died. The Greek and Roman’s believed in gods and goddesses who transformed themselves into Blue Tits. Killing a Blue Tit is seen as immoral and bad luck as it may have been carrying a soul. Superstition has it that if a Blue Tit taps on your window it is a reminder of something, or someone overlooked or a task that isn’t complete. So, if you hear a tapping at your window and see a flash of blue, sit quiet for a while and contemplate what you may have forgotten to do.

Although they are not on any extinction danger list it’s good to provide food, shelter, water, and possible nesting sites for these cheerful, pretty birds and strive to keep them as frequent visitors to our gardens and prolific in our hedgerows.

Blue Tits are welcome in our semi-wild garden, and we know what we are doing in our garden is working as sometimes our apple tree flickers blue and yellow as if fairies are flitting amongst the branches.

________________________________________

Thank you for reading my Blog, you can find more about me here...