This dataset contains information about the recordings of great tits, blue tits, marsh tits and nuthatches discovering novel food patches in relation to manipulated local population densities (see 1a4dcbb3-c4fb-4bd4-acb3-d03932de9323). Prior to and during the density manipulation experiment, novel feeders were placed at random locations and the discovery of these was recorded using a Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tag attached to each bird and the information recorded using a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) antenna within the feeder. The experiment took place in Wytham Woods, Oxfordshire, UK between January and March 2021, as part of a study on the effects of ecological factors on social structure and information transmission. Data collection was performed by Keith McMahon, Sam Croft and Kristina Beck. The work was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council (Grant NE/S010335/1), The ecology of behavioural contagion in natural systems. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/e250ae89-2e1f-4664-9092-5a8593d50fdf