What tits eat in winter and what to feed them

The domowypupil.pl editorial teamUpdated 1 November 20265 min read

In this article

1. Which tits will you see at a feeder in winter?
2. What do tits eat in winter?
3. What should you feed tits so as not to harm them?
4. Do tits become dependent on a feeder?
5. Which feeder should you choose for tits?
6. Frequently asked questions

Which tits will you see at a feeder in winter?

In Poland you can see 6 species of tit: the great tit, blue tit, marsh tit, willow tit, crested tit and coal tit¹. OTOP's educational material describes two of them in more detail: the great tit and the blue tit¹.

Great tit

The great tit is the largest of our tits: a yellow-olive bird with white cheeks and a black stripe on its belly¹. It forages on the ground and in the branches of trees, and according to the OTOP material it very much likes to peck at suet hung in a feeder¹.

Blue tit

The blue tit is smaller, with blue-green wings and a sky-blue cap¹. It looks for insects on thin, delicate twigs, and in winter forms large flocks, often with other tits, treecreepers and nuthatches¹.

What do tits eat in winter?

In winter tits eat mainly sunflower, suet and fat balls². OTOP stresses that sunflower can be either hulled or unhulled, and lists tits among its fans². Prof. Piotr Tryjanowski told Radio Kielce that tits particularly like fat balls⁴.

"Tits, nuthatches and woodpeckers happily eat suet."

OTOP, "What to feed and how?"

• Sunflower hearts or in the husk, dry and free of mould².
• Suet only unsalted: in frost it stays fresh for about 2 weeks, in above-zero temperatures it quickly goes rancid².
• Fat balls, that is fat, e.g. tallow, with seeds, always without plastic netting².
• Unsalted shelled nuts, which according to OTOP almost all feeder birds like².

We describe food for other species in the guide what to feed birds in winter, and we write about choosing seed in the text sunflower for birds.

What should you feed tits so as not to harm them?

Feed tits only fresh, unsalted food and remove the netting from fat balls². OTOP warns that birds can get tangled in plastic netting, and the consequences can be fatal². If a ball comes in netting, including one bought from us, remove it before hanging, and you can read more in the guide fat balls for birds.

Do not give bread, table scraps or anything salted, because salt causes kidney disease and dehydration in birds^2,5. Give only as much as the birds will eat straight away, because wet food quickly goes mouldy².

Always hang a fat ball without plastic netting, including one bought in a shop.

Do tits become dependent on a feeder?

An American study described by National Geographic does not confirm this: the team of Prof. Jim Rivers of Oregon State University observed 67 tits and found no dependence on feeders³. In difficult periods the birds were able to gather and store food, although the authors point out that further research is needed³. If you start feeding, do it regularly, because birds get used to a place with food^2,5.

When to start depends on the weather: OTOP advises starting when snow falls and frost sets in². We describe the timing in the guide when to feed birds.

Which feeder should you choose for tits?

For tits choose a hanging feeder without a large floor¹. OTOP's educational material gives an example: pieces of thick birch branches with drilled holes filled with fat and seeds¹. OTOP advises hanging fat balls on string, serving them in a paper cup as a "bell", or putting them in a metal fat ball feeder².

Hang the feeder at least 1.2 m above the ground⁵, out of reach of cats, away from windows and close to bushes². You will find details in the guide bird feeder: which to choose and where to hang it, and ready-made food in the category food for overwintering birds.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. OTOP, educational material "Should we feed birds? Birds of the month: tits and finches" (older material, not the current position), otop.org.pl
2. OTOP, "What and how to feed?", by Monika Klimowicz-Kominowska, otop.org.pl
3. National Geographic Polska, "Scientists are not convinced about feeding birds in winter" (11.12.2023), national-geographic.pl
4. Radio Kielce (IAR), statement by Prof. Piotr Tryjanowski, Poznań University of Life Sciences (2.11.2024), radiokielce.pl
5. GDOŚ, "#PoPierwszeNieSzkodzić: feeding birds" (21.11.2022), gov.pl

Photos: photo: Evas-naturfotografie, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, crop changed; photo: DmitriyGuryanov, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, crop changed; photo: Jacob Spinks from Northamptonshire, England, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0, crop changed; photo: GT1976, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, crop changed.

Prepared by the domowypupil.pl editorial team on the basis of the sources listed above. The article is for information only and does not replace the advice of a vet.