[PurpleFringe]

This rather scruffy blue tit visits my feeders a lot - not surprisingly he (she?) has a lot of trouble feeding, though he's very persistent and eventually manages a meal.

Sorry if this is a really daft question, but I guess he's unlikely to make it through the winter - would it be at all possible to catch him and trim his beak?

[Jon Turner]

Hi, I'm a bird ringer in Devon. I caught one exactly like this in my garden several years ago. I ringed and released it - it was in good health and it's weight and wing length were well within the range for Blue Tits. I pretty sure you can't do anything to it's bill - as you said it did get a feed and appears despite that extraordinary bill to be in pretty good trim. Looking at the greater and primary coverts (which seem to be blue) I think it is an adult bird - i.e. not hatched in this calendar year, so it is at least 18 months old, so doing well. Great pic by the way!

[Jabberwocky]

Hi, Thought you might like to submit your sighting to the BTO. They are running a survey on beak deformities.

http://www.bto.org/volunteer-surveys.../projects/bgbw Lewis

[PurpleFringe]

Originally Posted by Jabberwocky

Hi, Thought you might like to submit your sighting to the BTO. They are running a survey on beak deformities.

Thanks for this - already done it as it happens. I'd also posted the image at TalkPhotography, and someone posted the link.