Blue Tit
Parus caeruleus
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Distribution Britain 2,480 (-1.4%) Ireland 930 (-2.0%)
Numbers breeding: Britain 3,300,000 Ireland 1,100,000 European status: 18,000,000 (25% in Britain and Ireland =1) British population trend: stable or increasing (+28% CBC){+35%} How likely are you to record it? 3740 squares (83.3%) Ranked 7 [10] |
Probably overall this has always been the most common tit in Britain and Ireland. At the end of the 19th century it had only just colonised the Isle of Man — probably due to recent increased tree planting — and was still expanding to the very north of the mainland of Scotland. It got to the Western Isles about 35 years ago. In Ireland the second Breeding Atlas showed a few losses along the West Coast but some gains. These birds too are subject to cold weather mortality but the CBC shows a gradual and steady increase from the mid 1960s until 1996 (and BBS). This is despite one or two recent breeding seasons when the timing of breeding has not coincided with the caterpillar flush. This might be a feature of changes to do with global warming. Unless global warming provides the birds with a problem timing their egg laying, these birds will continue to do well.
The following Bird On! picture is available:
Blue Tit (Watercolour by Robert Gillmor)
The following Bird On! sketch is available:
From
The
State of the Nations Birds
Copyright © 2000 by Chris Mead