Penduline Tit photographed at Pleinmont [PLE] on 25/10/2018 Photo: © Dave Carre (visit site)

Penduline Tits have a wide breeding distribution in continental Europe ranging from Finland southwards through France to Spain and eastwards into Russia. The British Isles is one of the few areas in Eurasia where it does not breed!

Penduline Tits are a vagrant to Guernsey with only a handful of records from the island's reedbeds. The first was trapped at the St Sampson's Marais on 4 February 1967 by Tony Bisson and was seen again on the 12th. The remaining records come from the Vale Pond and are all autumn records from 1975, 1990 and 1993. The1993 record involved 2 adults and a juvenile. One bird was colour-ringed with a pink or orange ring on the left leg and a metal on the right and had originally been ringed as a nestling at Malmö, Sweden on 30 June 1993. The birds occurred in the reeds but also spent a large amount of time feeding on Sea Aster Aster tripolium.

1967: 1 trapped at the St Sampson's Marais on 4 February by Tony Bisson. Subsequently recorded again on 12 February.

1975: 1 bird at the Vale Pond on 23-24 October

1990: 2 on 1 November at the Vale Pond [check this record]

1993: A pair of birds with a juvenile seen at the Vale Pond between 7-10 November.