Practice with tit flocks

The number of birds visiting a garden, especially one with feeders or a birdtable, is always much larger than is immediately apparent. Not all birds visit at the same time! So, prolonged watching of feeders or the garden as a whole will be rewarded with more birds turning up. One great way to practise your garden (and woodland) ID skills is to watch roving tit flocks, which wander through gardens at this time of year. Out of the breeding season, tits flock up with members of their own species as well as other tits and often other birds, such as Goldcrests and Treecreepers, Nuthatches, finches and even Chiffchaffs and woodpeckers. Blue Tits, Great Tits and Long-tailed Tits are often the core of the flock; but see what else you can pick out. As you get used to watching such flocks, you will notice the different feeding habits of the different species (eg Great Tits often feed on the ground) and you may even get used to identifying the various calls of the feeding flock.