Tags
bird's nesting material, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Great tit, Great tit with nesting material, nesting material
When, from a distance, I first spotted this Great tit, I wondered what on earth it was doing.
It was plucking constantly and vigorously at something on the ground that it was holding down with its feet.
The bird was so focused on what it was doing that it wasn’t bothered about my approach and I was able to get a series of photos before the bird flew off with its prize.
Reviewing my photos, I realised that the object the tit was plucking at was part of a tennis ball, most probably an old dog’s ball that had fallen apart and been abandoned. At least now it was proving useful to the Great tit as nesting material, and I rather liked the idea that the bird and its nest would be colour-coordinated.
Lovely shots you’ve captured there. A couple of weeks ago, I was watching the inhabitants of the main village rookery, (as well as the jackdaws from local chimney pots and old quarry), strip the sheep fleece winter coverings from the raised beds in a nearby garden. Some of the birds were flying off with beakfuls of wool almost as big as they were.
Wonderful observation! Birds are so resourceful, and rather that fleece that the discarded hair from dogs that might have been treated with flea treatments, which seems to be the latest problem for birds.