Titwillow

Not the crispest of shots but the best I could do...
Catkins are out on the topmost goat willow twigs, which I suppose catch the most sun, and I've been relishing their silvery glint against the sky. This morning I noticed blue tits rummaging around up there and I wondered what they were doing - eating the flower buds perhaps, or the insects they might attract? But I've discovered that what they are actually after is nectar. Research suggests that willow nectar may be a significant energy source for blue tits in early spring, and in the process of obtaining it they effect pollination too. (The female flowers contain three times as much nectar as male by the way.)

Is this I wonder the origin of the Gilbert and Sullivan song Titwillow  hilariously rendered by The Muppets here? I love the Eagle's discomfiture at the soppiness of the word.