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Tit Box TV gives you the unique opportunity to witness the start of a new life for up to three families of baby Tits.
Spring is coming and this signals the start of the mating season for one of Britain's most prolific birds, the Tit.
This channel is uniquely linked to THREE REAL Tit Boxes located in the UK. In the past results have been good so SUBSCRIBE NOW! The mating season will soon be upon us and these boxes will hopefully become the starting place for some of natures most simple and adorable creatures.
DON'T MISS OUT IF YOU SUBSCRIBE TO THIS CHANNEL WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY INFORMED WHEN THE EXCITEMENT BEGINS!!!!!
Likely Tit families include:
Great Tits
The Great Tit, or Parus major, is a green and yellow bird, approximately 14cm in length and the largest of the tit species. Its most notable features are a glossy black head with white cheeks, plus a black stripe along the breast. Unusually for a bird species, there is very little difference between the plumage of the male and female. All these features help to distinguish the great tit from its smaller cousin, the blue tit. Both varieties are found all over the British Isles and Europe; notably in Eastern Europe, Russia and North Africa they approach something of 'pest' status, due to their large numbers. Great tits are most easily distinguished by their metallic song: tee-cher, tee-cher.
Great tits are relatively abundant (approximately 1.5m pairs thrive in the British Isles alone), and feed upon small insects, spiders, nuts, buds and fruit. A common sound in many a British autumn is the sound of great tits hammering on acorns in order to crack them open.
Great tits frequently nest in holes in walls and are often found in human-built nestboxes. Nests tend to be based on moss or grass and feature very few sticks contrary to many people's visualisation of nest design. The female produces clutches of 8 - 10 twice a year, which hatch after a couple of weeks. The chicks remain dependent on their mother for barely a month before they leave the nest. Naturally, nests still containing eggs should be left untouched and protected from any predators in the vicinity. If you wish to encourage great tits into your garden, then a bird feeder is always well-received: sunflower seeds are apparently a great delicacy.
Great tits are very territorial and nearly always nest in pairs. The pairs may, however, often flock with other breeds of tits as a defence against predators (the sparrowhawk's main diet is birds of this size). Many tits migrate to warmer climates quite early in the year - they leave as early in September to return the following March.
Blue tit
Blue tits are one of our smallest garden birds with a wingspan of 12-14cm. They are very colourful, with a blue crown, wings and tail, and a yellow breast. They can be found throughout Europe and are common visitors to gardens in the UK. Blue tits also live in Asia and North West Africa. They inhabit deciduous woodland, parks, gardens and reedbeds. Blue tits are very agile birds, and love to swing from nut feeders where you might be lucky enough to see them performing some acrobatic feats! Blue tits are especially fond of peanuts, sunflower seeds and suet, but feed on insects during the summer.
Blue tits normally pair for life. In spring they build a cup-shaped nest made of moss and grass and lined with hair, feathers and wool. They usually build their nests in holes in trees or walls, but will also make their homes in nestboxes.
The female lays 7-13 eggs in April or May, which she incubates for 12-16 days. It's hard to believe, but a single brood of young blue tits may eat between 600 and 1,000 caterpillars a day! Both parents feed the hungry chicks, and they fledge (leave the nest) after two or three weeks. You can spot young blue tits because they have yellow cheeks, whereas adult birds have white cheek feathers.
On average only one fledgling will survive to breed again the following year.
Feeding-Blue Tits feed mostly on insects, especially caterpillars, and seeds. In springtime they feed also on pollen, nectar and sap, and in the autumn on berries.
In the garden they search among the plants and crevices for insects (e.g. aphids, beetles, and caterpillars) and spiders, but also take sunflower hearts or high energy seed from bird feeders, or peck at a suet food bar or peanuts.
They are one of the most agile birds, and they will entertain for hours by hanging upside down from feeders, branches, etc. They are also opportunists and will often peck through foil milk bottle tops for the cream.
Blue Tits, and other tits, also peck putty around windows, usually at winter time. Some may simply be hungry and attracted to the linseed oil in the putty, though it is thought more likely that they are simply searching for food.
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