Garden bird guide: residents

Garden bird guide: residents

The Big Garden Bird Watch  and the Jersey's Great Garden Birdwatch have taken place, so let’s get to know some of the common birds that you may find in your garden.

We are going to start off with tits: small birds that are social with stout legs and triangular bills. Different species can be found feeding together over the winter. We are going to look 3 species: blue tit, great tit and long-tailed tit.


(1) Blue tit (top photo)
A very attractive and easily recognisable garden bird. It can be distinguished by the blue cap on its head as well as having blue wings and tail. It has a green back, yellow breast and a black line through the eye.


(2) Great tit (middle photo)
The largest tit in the UK. It can be confused with the smaller coral tit but these are less common in Jersey. They can be recognised by the black cap, collar and throat with a black line running down from the breast to the belly. The rest of the breast is yellow. The cheeks are white and the wings are blue-grey. They have known to be aggressive when feeding and may fight off smaller tits!


(3) Long-tailed tit (last photo)
A small tit which, as its name suggests, has a long tail which is bigger than its body. This bird is not to be confused with the pied wagtail which is larger and less pink and brown. It can also be identified by its white head with black eyestripes. Its wings are black with pink-brown markings above and the breast and belly are pale pink/white. They are an active species but may huddle together in the winter to conserve body heat.

 

All 3 of these species are on the green list in Jersey meaning that they are not currently threatened. Keep your bird feeders full to hopefully attract the tits and other birds into your garden! If you got to take place in the Jersey Great Garden Birdwatch then don’t forget to submit your records here but if you did not get the chance this year there is always the opportunity next year.

 

Written by Louise Whale 2019

Blue tit
Great tit
Long-tailed tit
Author
Sarah Maguire