1506 Little Explorers at the Mini Mart (Long tailed tits)

Artist Code: 1506. Completed 13 August 2015. Original SOLD. Water colour on Aquarelle Arches 100% Hot Pressed cotton rag paper. Unframed size 9” x 12”. Original SOLD at  the Huntingdon Country Park Exhibition, August 2015.

This painting is a scene from the bottom of my little wild garden. The mini shopping trolley is to store little plastic pots and old plates for house plants. There is a wild honeysuckle growing through it, as well as privet. The stinking hellebore was in a pot ready to be planted in the little wild garden. Unfortunately, it died before it could be planted out. I purchased it to replace one which had grown up naturally but died. Apparently these plants are fertilized by snails (of which there are plenty in my little garden), but obviously the hedgehog must have eaten them and the hellebore lost its source for procreation. The long-tailed tits that visit are only interested in the peanuts on the feeders, but also flit about amongst the trees and foliage, as well as the shopping trolley, searching for insects which  they love. They sometimes like to eat seeds late in the year. This lovely little bird is very sociable and you cannot fail to distinguish their little busy, twittering calls as they fly in familial flocks from one perch to another. The young of a first litter even help the parents feed and bring up a later brood, so a gorgeous little bird all round.