Mild UK winter boosts sightings of smaller garden birds

Long-tailed tit returns to the top 10 most commonly seen garden birds for the first time in seven years, results from the RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch show

A mild winter has boosted the number of small birds visiting UK gardens, with the long-tailed tit returning to the top 10 most commonly seen species for the first time in seven years, according to results from the world's largest garden wildlife survey.

Recorded sightings of the tiny, sociable tit rose by 44% on 2015 figures and the species was seen in more than a quarter of participants' gardens. Other small garden bird species that are thought to have benefitted from the warmer weather include the great tit and coal tit.