These birds are so entertaining! We're so lucky to get these in are Gardens and if you're yet to get them, put out Fat Balls or Suit Blocks of any kind and I'm sure it won't be long before you start to get them, especially if you have a lot of hedges and cover. Long-tailed Tits don't like to fly out in the open for long distances so key to these is to make a connection between your Garden and the next woodland. That said, if the weather is cold and harsh enough, you may get them anyway. I'll continue to photograph these till my camera gives up.
Key to their success is the way in which they commute on their day to day activities. They are among the very few species that survive thanks to sticking to a group but not just any random group, they survive with their own family. Evidence of this can be seen in the picture below taken a couple years ago on the top of my street.
This is the first years brood of 2014. Sticking together means more eyes to look out for predators and in this case, the chicks even help the parents feed their next brood of chicks which will drastically increase their chances of survival. You'll often hear the birds way before you see them and this is another sign that they are group orientated because they are constantly communicating which each other with a broad variety of different calls to which each individual has to learn. This communication doesn't always work to their advantage though as it can give away their position to predators and top predator of these birds is the Sparrowhawk.