Coal Tit Nesting (Behaviour, Eggs + Location)

Britain’s smallest native member of the tit family, coal tits (Periparus ater), live and breed across the UK, except the remotest northeast Scottish islands and parts of coastal East Anglia. Do you know what kind of habitats these tiny acrobatic birds prefer for nesting? Read on to discover where coal tits raise their young and what kind of nests they use.

Coal tits are versatile nesters, building nests in disused hollows in trees, but will also use nest boxes, abandoned squirrels’ dreys, among roots, in rodent burrows or in cracks and crevices in walls or rocks.

A mossy cup-shaped nest is constructed inside their chosen cavity, and up to 13 eggs are laid in a brood, incubated by the female alone. Males continue to remain nearby to bring food to females and to help feed young once they have hatched.

As common visitors to garden feeders, and often seen feeding with blue tits and great tits, it’s not surprising to learn that coal tits regularly breed in urban and suburban environments as well as forests and woodlands. According to BTO Gardenwatch data, the species is spotted in around 58 percent of back gardens, particularly in the autumn and winter.

To find out more about the nesting habits of coal tits, then scroll on to our guide below.

Nesting Coal tit feeding hungry chicks inside of the nest

Nest Location

Where do Coal Tits nest?

Coal tits make cup-shaped nests from moss, wool and grass inside cavities in trunks of trees, particularly conifers. Nesting spots are chosen in forests and woodlands, as well as parks and gardens that offer tree cover and foraging opportunities nearby.

Deciduous tree hollows may also be used, and they will also readily use nest boxes with small entry holes.

Coal tits mainly feed on tiny insects, aphids and conifer seeds, and are regular visitors to bird feeders where they will eat nuts, sunflower seeds and suet. A breeding territory within easy reach of both natural and human-provided food is ideal.

Do Coal Tits nest in the same place every year?

Due to their tiny size, the sad truth is that many coal tit pairs do not survive long enough to breed for a second season. Up to 90 per cent of birds die in their first year.

Pairs that do survive winter will frequently reuse a nest cavity they have used before, particularly when it’s located in a living tree rather than a rotten one. For second broods in the same season, it is unusual for the same nest to be used again.

Do Coal Tits nest in gardens?

Coal tits visit garden feeders and can be persuaded to nest in a northeast-facing nest box mounted on the trunk of a conifer. If natural sites are available in gardens, such as suitable conifers or surfaces with cracks or deep crevices, these may also attract nesting coal tits.

Coal tits are cavity nesters

Do Coal Tits use nest boxes?

Coal tits regularly nest in manmade boxes and will readily use a box with a small entrance. They prefer a box mounted up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) off the ground, with the entrance facing northeast, so it is positioned out of direct sunlight and reduces the possibility of overheating.

If the entrance hole for a nest box is greater than 25 mm (1 in) across, it may not be considered suitable by nesting coal tits. Larger birds can gain access, and will invariably turf out the smaller coal tits.

Coal tits nest earlier in the year than blue tits and great tits, reducing competition for these purpose-built boxes.

What trees do Coal Tits nest in?

Conifers are by far the top choice trees for nesting coal tits, with pine, spruce, fir, and larch among the most common species. Deciduous trees, including birch and oaks, may also offer nesting spots, but will only be chosen if there are no suitable coniferous sites nearby.

How high are Coal Tit nests?

Coal tits look for suitable hollows in which to build their nests reasonably low down on a tree trunk, often no higher than 1 m (3 ft 3 in) off the ground.

Ground level sites may also be chosen: recorded examples include empty rodent burrows and hollows formed by roots or in the base of a rotting tree stump.

Coal tits commonly build their nests in nest boxes

Nest Appearance

What do Coal Tit nests look like?

Inside their chosen cavity, coal tits construct cup-shaped nests from soft natural materials, including moss, wool, fur, and soft grasses. The internal cup is lined with soft moss.

Although they do not excavate their own cavities, coal tits may enlarge their chosen hollow’s internal chamber using their beaks.

How big are Coal Tit nests?

When using a nest box, an internal depth of at least 20 cm (7.9 in) is preferred, with the entire floor lined with nesting materials, and a cup-shaped depression formed for the eggs/chicks.

Nest size isn’t well documented, as the species adapts to the different hollows it uses, but the internal cup is large enough to hold as many as 13 hatchlings.

Coal tit gathering nesting materials

Phenology

What time of year do Coal Tits nest?

Nesting behaviour begins in late March to April. Coal tits mate for life, and pair formation is followed by an extended period of courtship feeding. Suitable sites are identified, and the female constructs the nest alone before eggs are laid.

How long do Coal Tits nest for?

Female coal tits incubate their eggs for between 14 and 16 days. After hatching, young coal tits are fed in the nest by both parents for 18 to 22 days, and continue to be brooded by the female.

What month do Coal Tits lay eggs?

The first clutch of the breeding season for Coal tits usually appears in late April to early May. A second brood may follow in June.

Where do Coal Tits nest in the winter?

Some coal tits have been observed to use empty nest boxes for shelter outside of the breeding season, particularly when they are mounted on conifers in icy forests, at heights of up to 2 metres.

Coal tit nesting behaviour usually starts in March

Nest Construction

How do Coal Tits build their nests?

Coal tits identify a suitable hollow or nest cavity, either in a tree or crevice in a wall, or frequently a purpose-built nesting box, mounted on a tree trunk.

Nesting material, including mosses, fur, grasses, and wool are brought to the hollow, and cover the floor.

Moss is shaped into a cup-shape, held together with spiders’ webs, and an internal depression is formed for the eggs to be laid in. Finishing touches include the addition of soft moss and feathers as a lining.

What do Coal Tits use for nesting?

Moss, wool, grass, hair and spiders’ webs are used to create a cup-shaped nest inside a tree hollow or other cavity. The interior of the nest structure is then lined with softer moss, fur and feathers.

Do male or female Coal Tits build the nest?

Female coal tits build their nests alone, and little is known about the role, if any, that a male plays in the construction or gathering of materials.

Coal tit gathering nesting material

Eggs

What do Coal Tit eggs look like?

Coal tit eggs are white, marked with red spots. They are small and slightly rounded, measuring 15 mm by 12 mm (0.6 in by 0.5 in).

How many eggs do Coal Tits lay?

Coal tits lay between 5 and 13 eggs, with anything between 7 and 11 being typical. When a second brood is attempted, it will have fewer eggs than the first.

Do male Coal Tits sit on eggs?

Incubation is by the female coal tit alone, and it takes from 14 to 16 days for hatching to begin. Although the male coal tit does not sit on the eggs, he continues to be attentive during incubation, bringing food to the nesting female.

A pair of Coal tits perched on a branch

Fledgling and Parental Care

When do baby Coal Tits leave the nest?

Coal tits are ready to leave the nest by around 20 days, although they may fledge as early as 18 days or as late as 22 days. Once they have fledged, young coal tits group together and initially remain relatively close to their hatch site.

How many broods do Coal Tits have?

It’s usual for coal tits to raise just one or two broods a year. A third brood might be attempted, but it will be typically smaller than the first and second of the breeding season.

Adult Coal tit feeding recently fledged chick

FAQs

Do Coal Tits abandon their nests?

If their mate dies, or their nest is invaded by another bird or threatened in any way by a possible predator, then it’s highly likely that a coal tit will abandon its unhatched eggs or young.

Do Coal Tits nest on the ground?

While not their typical choice for a nest site, it is not unheard of for coal tits to find a ground-level spot to raise their young. Mouse burrows, tree roots, rotten tree stumps, and cracks in logs may offer sufficient shelter and security for coal tit pairs to decide to set up home there.

Where do Coal Tits nest at night?

Some coal tits may seek overnight shelter in an empty nest box or other tree hollow. Others will roost alone, tucked up close to the branches of a conifer. In freezing weather, coal tits may opt to roost with other family members for added warmth.

How to attract nesting Coal Tits?

Well-stocked bird feeders, offering peanuts, seeds, suet, and mealworms, may attract coal tits to your garden. The addition of nest boxes around 1 m (3 ft 3 in) above the ground, with small entry holes facing northeast, may be enough to tempt them to nest there too.

Conifers, especially pines with abundant needles, are favoured by coal tits for feeding and nesting, and the presence of these may make a garden an appropriate choice for raising young chicks.