Blue Tit
| Irish Name: | Meantán gorm |
| Scientific name: | Cyanistes caeruleus |
| Bird Family: | Tits |
green
Conservation status
Conservation status
Status
Common resident throughout Ireland. One of Ireland's top 20 most widespread garden birds.
Identification
A colourful, noisy, active little bird, commonly seen in gardens, especially at nut feeders and will use nestboxes. Bright blue crown, nape collar, wings and tail and yellow underside. The white cheeks are bordered by a dark blue line - the line through the eye is separated from the blue cap by a white band - all producing a distinctive head pattern. Bill is short and stubby, legs bluish-grey. Very acrobatic, often hangs upside-down on branches pecking at buds or foraging for insects. Regular visitor to peanut feeders and will use nestboxes. Occurs in woodland, farmland, gardens etc. Usually seen in small groups in winter and will team up with other tit species, Treecreepers and Goldcrests to form roving bands.
Voice
Song a clear, quite high-pitched "tsee-hee-he-hee…". Call a series of scolding chuckles, also many short twitters
Diet
Mainly small insects, but also seeds and will readily use peanut feeder and take scraps from bird table.
Breeding
Breeds throughout Ireland - prefers broad-leaved woodland, but also in farmland, parks and gardens. Nests in cavity in tree or wall. Occasionally chooses an unusual site such as a pipe or letterbox, but will readily use nestboxes.
Wintering
Largely resident.
Monitored by
Common and widespread in Ireland.
Resident throughout the year.
Blog posts about this bird
Flight of the garden birds – understanding the summer disappearance of your feathered friends
Has your garden grown quieter in recent weeks? Don’t worry. Your beloved feathered friends probably haven’t abandoned your garden for a better peanut feeder, nor is it likely that anything is wrong. In fact, it is completely normal for birds to disappear for a while in mid-summer. Here are some reasons why.
Protective parents
From late spring to the middle of the summer (and longer for some species) birds are thinking about courting a mate, building a nest, incubating a clutch of eggs and all going well, spending several weeks frantically trying to feed a hungry brood. All of this activity centres around a territory and later a nest. The adults can’t travel far from it, or they could lose their territory or mate to a rival, a predator could find the eggs, or the chicks could go hungry! This is the reason you won’t get flocks of anything in your garden in summer, or at best you might get a couple of pairs of Blue Tits or Chaffinches visiting your garden – they’re all spread out and can’t move far until the chicks are raised.
Blue Tit. Photo: Brian Burke.
Food glorious food In summertime, the natural world is brimming with foodstuffs. With insects, seeds, fruit and more in abundance, birds are simply spoiled for choice! For this reason, they aren’t as reliant on bird feeders as they are in the winter. People often ask us whether they should leave bird feeders up in the summer, when birds have plenty of natural food available to them. While it isn’t as vital to do so as in winter, there is no harm in leaving the feeders up throughout the year. In fact, it is likely to be much appreciated by the busy parents! Adult birds are required to feed both themselves and their chicks during the summer. Supplying them with food in your garden allows them easy access to food for themselves, giving them more time and energy to search for more protein-rich food for their chicks. It’s best to avoid fat/suet-based products during the summer months, but do put out mealworms, peanuts, nyjer seeds and sunflower seeds. Of course, our guidance around bird feeder hygiene applies all year round and research indicates that late summer and autumn is the peak time for infections such as trichomonosis to spread amongst wild bird populations. To prevent the transmission of bacteria, parasites and other infections, be sure to clean all feeders and water dishes every 1-2 weeks with a veterinary disinfectant or mild bleach (5%) solution. Give the feeders a good scrub, a thorough rinse and allow them to air dry completely before using them again. It’s also worthwhile to switch the location of your feeders from time to time, so that there isn’t a build of droppings in any one location, and to spread your feeders around the garden so birds aren’t all coming together at one location. Read more about disease prevention and bird feeder hygiene here.
Chaffinch. Photo: Brian Burke.
Recovery mode The breeding season is an extremely taxing period in the life of a small bird and by the end of it the birds, and indeed their feathers, are worn out! If you take a close look at some adult birds at this time of year you’ll often see dull colours compared to the vivid pigments of a few months ago, and their feathers are by now very worn and tatty. Once their chicks have fledged, many species take this opportunity to freshen things up, moult their feathers and head into the latter half of the year in good condition so they can take whatever the winter throws at them. Adult birds of most species will replace every single feather over the course of a couple of weeks. This requires a lot of energy, and the temporary loss of feathers leaves them less agile and more vulnerable to predators. Because of this, birds will keep a low profile until the moulting process is complete. They’re still there, even if you can’t see them. When will the birds return to my garden? As the nesting and moulting periods vary depending on the species, it is difficult to say for sure when birds will arrive back to your garden. It will also depend on factors such as weather and natural food availability, and you might find you get some busy weeks and some quiet weeks with a high degree of unpredictability between now and November. However, be sure to keep those eyes peeled and, if you’re using them, those feeders at least half-filled as it is likely you’ll have some visitors checking in on them from time to time.
Spread your wings with a stay at Cape Clear Bird Observatory in 2024
Think of an island of just under 6km² in size and you would be forgiven for believing that your options for things to see and do are limited.
Yet, on making the crossing from Baltimore to Cape Clear Island in County Cork, you will pass through a portal to endless natural wonders.
Take it from Steve Wing. 25 years since first moving to the island to take up the reins as Cape Clear Bird Observatory’s Wildlife Officer, he is still making discoveries.
“There are all sorts of things to discover here. It is a great place to gain enjoyment and knowledge about any aspect of nature,” he said. “When it comes to the natural world, the learning is endless. If you take up birdwatching, you will by default start asking more questions. ‘What’s that moth or butterfly? ‘What’s the tree they’re feeding in?’ You want to follow on. The more you learn about one thing, the more you want to learn about another.
We don’t just do birding here; we do all sorts of things. I’m still learning about moth identification, for example. That’s as much a lesson for me as anyone else.”
Steve Wing
As the home of the Republic of Ireland’s only bird observatory and one of the best places in Europe to observe migratory seabirds and rarities, Cape Clear is a magnet for birdwatchers all around Ireland, and beyond. But what is it about this island that makes it such a haven for bird life? “It’s location, location, location basically,” Steve responded. Indeed, Cape Clear's remote island location on the southwestern coast and mild climate make it a hot spot for an abundance of species. Many of those who visit Cape Clear to birdwatch today are following in the footsteps of the “pioneers” who founded the Observatory, as Steve explained. On a visit to Cape Clear in 1959, a group of young birdwatchers from England discovered many rarities and noted the potential Cape Clear Island offered for observing bird migration. Owing to their enthusiasm and a subsequent anonymous donation, the wheels were set in motion for the establishment of the Bird Observatory we know today. In 2000, Cape Clear Bird Observatory came under the ownership of BirdWatch Ireland, just two years after Steve took up his post. You can read more about the history of Cape Clear here.
Steve Wing Cape Clear Wildlife Officer in doorway of CCBO. Photo: Brian Caffrey
Steve’s work at Cape Clear varies, depending on the time of year. Between April and September, he is kept busy running his extremely popular “Wildlife Weekends” – short and interactive courses suitable for the beginner birder right up to the seasoned twitcher. “When I am doing the courses, I am 100 percent with the people from the minute I wake up to the moment I go to bed. Whatever I am doing, they will get a chance to do. I take them for walks, do some ringing with them and tell them more about birds and Cape Clear in general. You're not sitting in a classroom, you're walking and talking and learning all the time,” he explained. “Participants will learn how to identify birds by looking at things like bill shape, the size of the bird, the colour, what they’re feeding on and their location. They will learn some basic birdwatching knowledge and a little bit of fieldcraft, and, of course, get plenty of enjoyment. There is the social side to the weekend, too. Every evening, we go to the pub and discuss what has happened during the day. If people leave here happy, have had a good time and want to come back, it’s a success in my eyes.” In addition to Steve’s Wildlife Weekends, Cape Clear also plays host to the week-long “Seabirds to Songbirds” courses led by Dick Coombes. Through these courses, which will take place on two dates in 2024, participants will gain an insight into the world of migration and the joys of sea-watching.
Cory's Shearwater. Photo: Artie Kopelman
When the guests have packed their bags and set sail for the mainland, Steve returns to his work on the island. There’s no such thing as a typical day, however, as his activities tend to shift with the changing weather and seasons. In late summer and early autumn, he might sit on the cliffs and monitor the seabirds – an activity known as seawatching. If the weather is calm and there are birds around, he might open the nets to do some ringing. To date, approximately 23,000 individual birds have been ringed on Cape Clear, Steve said, adding that it is a job he feels extremely lucky to carry out. “It is a total privilege to be able to hold on to a bird and show people the topography of it, how the feathers work and why the bill shape liked that. It is a lot easier to see close up. To see the look of awe on kids’ faces when they see a Robin or Blue Tit is fantastic. They're amazed,” he said. “Ringing itself is wonderful always but it’s always nice to catch something that’s rare, like a Golden Oriole, for example. Anything you catch that you're not expecting to is a bonus.” Information gathered from ringing and monitoring work has taught us a lot about how bird populations are faring on the island. For example, as Steve explained, Herring Gull numbers on the island have declined dramatically in recent years, likely due to a combination of factors including overfishing. Meanwhile, Fulmar numbers have risen as many have taken over former Herring Gull breeding sites. “Song Thrushes seem to be doing incredibly well around here, whereas around most of the rest of Europe they are declining. Maybe it is the fact there aren’t so many pesticides being used here. We don’t know for sure,” continued Steve. “We seem to be getting more Mediterranean seabirds also. Last year, I had a record year for Cory Shearwaters for the whole south coast of Ireland. We had tens of thousands coming through.” Ringing also gives us information about migration routes. We now know that some of the birds recorded on Cape Clear have travelled a tremendous distance to be there.
Sedge Warbler. Photo: Clive Timmons.
“I caught three adult Sedge Warblers in 2017 and up until three years ago, I was still catching two of the three when they returned to Cape after wintering in Gambia and Senegal. We did a very quick rough estimate on Google Maps and realised that these birds had pretty much done a circumnavigation of the planet in their lifetimes. It's an amazing feat for these tiny birds the size of Robins.” While Steve’s Wildlife Weekends are now fully booked for 2024 and only a limited number of places remain on the “Seabirds to Songbirds” courses, it is still possible to visit Cape Clear and experience the natural wonders that it holds. From April 8th, members of the public can take the boat from Baltimore and stay in the Bird Observatory’s self-catering style accommodation in shared dorms. For more information and to book, visit the BirdWatch Ireland website. Regardless of whether you visit Cape Clear for a course or on a self-guided trip, alone or with friends, you are sure to depart with additional knowledge and a renewed appreciation for Ireland’s bird life. “Capers say Ireland is the island off Cape and that this is the best place in Ireland to be. If you visit, you will learn a lot about the birds, you will learn more about the general art of birdwatching and hopefully, you will get to appreciate what a beautiful place Cape is. Come with an open mind. You are sure to learn something.” Find our more about and book a Cape Clear course in 2024.
