Great tits in the garden

We’ve been seeing an increasing number of birds in the garden recently (a blackbird and once again the starlings are nesting in our roof, the chicks hatched this week I think). I think this is partly due to the food we’re putting out but also the fact that the trees we planted are starting to provide a bit more cover.

I popped out into the garden before work this morning and was pleased to see a pair of great tits (Parus major) foraging by the hazel tree.

Great tits have recently been shown to have adapted their breeding habits to maximise the chances of success for their chicks in response to climate change. Nesting great tits have been monitored near Oxford and are now nesting two weeks early than they did in 1970.

We had blue tits nest in the bird box on the front of the house last year so maybe we’ll encourage great tits to use the tit box in the back garden?