The great tit, as its name suggests, is our largest tit species, and inhabits most of the country apart from some northern and western Scottish islands. Although it is mainly a woodland species, these birds are also well adapted to living in parks and gardens.

Great tits are relatively easy to identify, although at first glance they may be mistaken for other tits. They have a black head and chin, white cheeks, yellow breast, and a black stripe running down their front.

The width of the black stripe can also identify the sex of the bird – it is thin in females and wider in males. The bolder and wider the stripe on the male, the more attractive he is to the female.

Great tits feed on insects and small spiders but will also visit bird feeders to feast on seeds.

This tit species has a number of calls but the most distinctive is a high-pitched, two-syllable song which sounds like ‘tea-cher, tea-cher’.

The blue tit is smaller than the great tit but occurs in a similar type of habitat and has a similar diet.

The birds have a blue cap, white cheeks, black eye stripes, a greeny-blue back, yellow belly, and blue wings and tail. They also have the black stripe at the front, but it is less distinguished and it starts from the chest down rather than from the bottom of the head.

Males and females are almost identical, the one difference being the males’ brighter blue colouration on the head, wings and tail.

Their most common song is a loud ‘tsee-tsee-tsee’ song and trilling.

The coal tit is the tiniest of tits, with dull grey feathers to match its name. It is a shy bird that prefers conifers but will use garden nest boxes and can occasionally visit bird feeders (often taking food from bird feeders and carrying it away to store for later).

Male and female coal tits look alike and the only way to differentiate between them is an extra white stripe on the back of the male’s head.

Just like the great tit, the coal tit song is a repeated call of two descending notes – ‘tea-cher, tea-cher’ – but it is higher and much faster.

Similar to blue tits, the coal tits are very active birds and you can see them constantly on the move looking for insects, or hanging upside down and searching around the branches and tree trunks.

If you would like to attract tit species to your garden, use a variety of seeds (especially sunflower seeds), nuts and mealworms, especially in winter. Do not forget to supply fresh water for drinking and bathing.

You can also install suitable nest boxes they will happily use in spring and early summer.

If you have a pet, you can leave moulted hair out in the garden as it provides a great material to line their nests.

I never dedicated much time to photographing these birds until just before lockdown. What inspired me was a chat to my fellow birdwatcher and nature guide from Gambia, Ansu.

I remember when my husband asked Ansu what bird species he would like to see in Europe and the answer was a blue tit!

Initially, I could not believe this was the choice out of all the other birds he could have listed (including the exotic flamingos, elusive capercaillies or some attractive raptor species).

However, the next time I saw a blue tit, something clicked with me and I looked at it from a different perspective.

The blue tits are beautiful indeed and should never have been taken for granted.

Since that day, each time I see a great, blue or coal tit flying past, I always reach out for my camera.

Speak to you next month!

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