Spot the Difference

On an early October evening (13/10/22), I was busy shredding some corn stalks after bringing in the sweetcorn harvest. From the crab apple tree in the wild garden, there came the unmistakable screeching tea-cher, tea-cher call of the long-tailed tit.

From my position, I took these two photos. Can you spot the difference? 

In total there were about eight birds and they appeared to be a family group.

Some interesting facts:

• It can take up to 3 weeks to build a nest
• The nest is lined with up to 1500 feathers
• Eggs are laid in batches of 8 to 12
• Long-tailed tits that have failed to breed or have lost their nest/brood will help other parents feed the young
• A group of long-tailed tits is called a volery (from the French voler = to fly)

[FYI: two long-tailed tits in the first photo and five in the second]