Masters of memory

Day216 #365DaysWild

Coal tits busy at the bird feeders. And calling from the conifers.

Feisty little things.

This one with a distinctive spotty head caught and released a year ago.

They are residents and there is a distinct British race of coal tits.

Snatching seed they cunningly stash their swag away for hungry times.

Subordinate birds are driven away from food supplies.

They hide hundreds of seeds - but not randomly. They need to be able to find seed when hungry.

Clever great tits follow them to their stash and pinch it!

Amazingly, the specific memories associated with food-storing behaviour can stimulate growth of the hippocampus in coal tits, an area of the brain concerned with memory processing. 

This seed-hiding has resulted in sunflowers springing

up in unexpected corners of the garden and plant pots.

They can use small mammal holes for nests - as we’ve witnessed. 

We provide small nest boxes at the base of conifers.