Which is the most common member of the titmouse family in my part of the world? I don't know, but I think it is likely to be the blue tit, closely followed by the great tit. Thereafter, the most numerous is probably the longtailed tit followed by the coal tit, with the marsh tit the least seen. I've photographed all of these species, some more successfully than others. There may be small numbers of willow tits and crested tits but I haven't seen any. What about the bearded tit I hear some ask? Well, technically this is not a titmouse but a reedling, so I've discounted it. Today's photograph is the best I've taken of the great tit. The perfect background, which looks like it may be some kind of studio device, is actually the out of focus surface of a lake. Incidentally, someone recently asked if I used flash for my small bird photographs. The answer is no: flash is something I use sparingly for people and still life shots and rarely for anything else.
photo © T. Boughen Camera: Nikon P900
