The Long tailed Tit is a pretty little bird with a tail longer than it's body.  In the wintertime they move around in small family groups but I have noticed this last few days that they have just split up in to breeding pairs. In actual fact they are not related, as a species, to the other tits and chickadees in the USA, but are part of the family of Bush Tits.  Their nests are an indicator of this seperation, the other true tit species are hole nesters, thy will readily use a nest box, however, Long-tailed Tits build a beautiful nest, which is a balled construction made from feathers and moss and camoflouged with small pieces of lichen.  I have noticed in the past that these nests are often in the midst of a gorse bush and I never miss the chance to check for a nest at this time of the year onwards.  Thy can successfully rear as many as a dozen youngsters.