Master builder adds the soft furnishings

Long-tailed-Tit-Shropshire-2020-with-feather-2-Keith-Offord-lo-res.jpgOne of the most ingenious and extraordinary nest-builders has to be the Long-tailed Tit. We have been watching a pair in the garden as they have painstakingly collected pieces of lichen, interwoven with spider's web. The end result is an oval mass with an entrance hole near the top. The use of spider's web enables the nest to expand as the young grow inside. The final part of the contruction process involves the lining of the nest with literally hundereds of feathers. Here is one of the birds in action.