Blue Tits impacted by wrong kind of feeders

I read an article today that says that the number of Blue Tits seen from Kitchen windows has fallen by 42% in the past 40 years.

Now this surprised me since the Blue Tit is one of the most common birds seen. However although the Blue Tit is thriving it is less common in gardens as we are now putting out a range of birdfeeders and food that attract a greater variety of bids to our gardens.

In the past bird feeders demanded the sort of acrobatic behaviour that Blue Tits specialize in. Modern feeders allow bigger birds to dominate the smaller Blue Tit and food like Nyger seed and Sunflower seeds attract other types of birds (Long Tailed Tits and Goldfinches).

According to Tim Harrison of the British Trust for Ornithology

In gardens, changes in bird feeding could be responsible. Once the supple dexterity of the blue tit would have been king – allowing it to feed on monkey nuts threaded on a string, peanuts in a mesh feeder and coconut shells stuffed with fat.

But modern foods and feeders mean that blue tits face stiff competition from others species.