How to distinguish between the different species of tit

The tit is an omnivore, mainly insects are on their menu, but also larvae, spiders, aphids and seeds. In winter, the small birds often become vegetarian and feed on oily seeds and nuts.

Feeding stations created by humans are also readily accepted during the cold season. Fatty fat balls, which the animals can hold on to with their claws, are particularly popular with the 11 to 15 centimeter small birds.

To make a fat ball yourself as food for the songbirds in the cold season, you need about 150 grams of fat (beef tallow or coconut oil), a grain mixture that contains sunflower seeds, for example, and a string to hold the fat ball.

Melt the fat in a saucepan, but do not let it boil and stir well. When adding the grain mixture, pay attention to the dose. Too much feed will result in a brittle mix. To make the feeding station last longer, add a little cooking oil to the mixture. This stabilizes the cohesion.

After all the contents of the pot have cooled, you can make round balls with your hands. Here, the cord for later hanging can be incorporated directly. After a few hours, the dumpling will be dry and you can choose a suitable branch to hang up the homemade tit food.

In comparison to other birds, the breeding season of tits begins quite early, usually at the beginning of April – and can be recognized by the fact that the males sing more than usual. They often start looking for suitable nesting sites as early as winter. Future tit pairs often meet during this time.

The tit nest is built by the female. It consists of materials such as moss, hair, roots, blades of grass and lichen. Depending on whether the birds later lay one or two eggs, the breeding season can extend into July.

How often tits breed per season depends first of all on the bird species. Marsh tits and willow tits have more than one brood per year. Great tits and blue tits, the most common native species of tits, very rarely breed twice per season. It also depends on the climate and food supply. In the case of the coal tit, on the other hand, a second brood occurs more frequently.

The tit builds its nest in cavities in trees, rocks or walls. The great tit, for example, prefers rotten tree cavities, which is why it is rarely found in young forest stands.

If there are not enough natural caves available, many tits breed in special nest boxes. Especially in habitats heavily influenced by humans, these so-called artificial “tit boxes” are often used by cave breeders. It is therefore worth placing one or even more tit boxes in the garden