A flock of long-tailed tits stop by

Standing in the dining room at lunchtime I suddenly saw this flock of long-tailed tits gathering in the nearby tree and then in ones and twos gathering on the feeder to eat the suet pellets. It had been intermittently drizzling and the wind was still gusting strongly.

My camera was beside me on the table so I moved gently to pick it up, trying not to disturb the birds. I had to film quickly through the double-glazed door with hardly any time to adjust the settings. I knew they would be flying away imminently, as they are a particularly flighty species. But I'm glad I did. I do love them. Today I counted nine of them, although I think there are only eight in this shot, with this solitary blue tit looking on enviously. Generally the long-tailed tits don't appear to be aggressive to other birds and are happy to eat with others on the feeders.