Grafton Underwood Marsh Tits

Last winter I fed up an area of woodland near Grafton Underwood by throwing a seed and peanut mix onto an area of clear ground and was amazed by the number of Marsh Tits that pitched up.

It reached the stage where, on arrival when I parked up, they were already starting to gather in the surrounding foliage and even began feeding before I had got back to the car some fifteen feet away.

This '' set up '' allowed me to take photographs from the car using a bean bag on the open window to support my camera.

I don't like shots where the feed can be seen so I concentrated on taking shots whilst they were perched in the surrounding foliage before dropping down to feed ... well, it started like that until their confidence was such that they started dropping straight down without perching first !.

I also don't particularly like '' staged '' shots however '' needs must when the devil drives ''. 

A friend of mine had told me that a moss covered log on the ground would give a fairly natural perch for the birds to land on before feeding and this woodland was certainly full of old rotting trees so I was able to find a two foot piece and positioned it a bit closer to the car ( Images four and five ).

I have to say that I am pleased with the results.

Other birds coming down to feed were Coal, Great and Blue Tits, Chaffinches, Bullfinch, and even Nuthatch.

An additional bonus was the presence of Treecreepers in the nearby trees and Red Kite and Buzzards overhead.