21/11/2019
The RSPB,
Rare Breeding Birds Panel (RBBP) and Welsh Ornithological Society are joining
forces with Natural England, Natural Resources Wales and county bird clubs to
run a national Willow
Tit survey
in spring 2020, with the aim to understand precisely why the species has
declined at such an alarming rate in the UK.
Willow
Tit, a highly sedentary species, has been lost from much of southern and
eastern England during the past two to three decades. Throughout the UK,
numbers have crashed by some 94% between 1970 and 2012. This concerning trend
has triggered plenty of research as to why, with several potential causes ruled
out. However, the effect of deteriorating habitat quality requires further investigation.
In the
UK, damp, young woodland is a key habitat. Naturally, such places don’t have a
long lifespan, either growing into mature woodland after 20 to 30 years or
drying out, the latter increasingly problematic in light of our warming
climate. At present, the RSPB are trialling various woodland management
solutions for Willow Tit (part of the Back From the Brink project) which study
the daily movements and habitat use of the species.
