Ah, they have replied now and they are still in operation

Aldershot? 😂

Thanks Nate. I even think Blue Tits and Great Tits are very underappreciated - very common but also very beautiful

Loved the episode. Also enjoyed the latest one about why birders go where they go - although I got a bit annoyed with the several digs at Western European birds being ‘boring’. Very unjust criticism I think 😊

Oh yes, I like this idea

Thanks Richard

Thanks Richard (see my main replies below) - I would like to share your article on other social media if that’s okay. When was it written? I can’t find a date on it

…huge increase because (probably) of feeding), I wonder what effect they have had there on the birds that were there before

The nest box issue is one I thought of while ready your article so I was interested to see it mentioned towards the end. I’m also wondering about Lesser Spots and whether the huge increase of GSW has been part of their decline. And on GSW- since they’ve colonised Ireland (poss related to their …

Thanks for your replies Richard. Wow, that is definitely food for thought (sorry about the pun). I’ve actually pretty much stopped feeding in my garden but mainly because so few birds come now that the food doesn’t get eaten and goes bad.

Thanks

Is there actually research to show that connection between increase in Blue tits and Great tits and the loss of Willow Tits? I would have thought reduction in good wet woodland habitat would be a big part of it.

I think that’s over-simplifying it Mark. It’s not just about making ourselves feel better. Feeding really helps birds survive lean times. We need to learn from mistakes - by changing how we feed birds, by cleaning our feeders muuuuch more frequently and by gardening to provide more ‘natural’ food