Willow Tits

Back from the Brink - Willow Tits

Background

Small and quietly coloured, the willow tit is the UK’s most threatened resident bird. We’ve lost 94% of them since the 1970s, and they are now extinct in most of their former haunts in the south and south-east of England. But not in the Dearne Valley where the connected landscape of favorable habitat is providing a stronghold for the species... and more help is at hand.

Why willow tits are threatened

One of the reasons they are threatened in other areas of the country is they spend the whole year in much the same area, favouring damp scrub or young woods and eat mainly insects. In poorly connected landscapes they will become isolated but in the Dearne Valley they occupy old industrial areas which generate scrub and young woodland that provide a unique and invaluable opportunity for this little, stocky bird. These are often considered wasteland, and not worthy of conservation effort but even if these areas are not developed, if not managed it will eventually turn to mature woodland and become unsuitable for willow tits.

Back From The Brink

This Back from the Brink project, led by Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and RSPB, will help willow tits in the Dearne Valley by ensuring there is good habitat for them, and improving their ability to move between the landscape. Annual surveys will allow us to monitor the impact of our work on habitats. We need to understand better what sorts of areas this bird likes best, and how much of it they need to thrive. We’ll find out more about this species by using state of the art technology, especially to find out what prevents them spreading through the landscape, but also to learn more about what they need.

By the end of the project, we aim to have improved the conservation status of the willow tit in the Dearne valley, by learning more about their needs, and by building on existing, good partnerships to safeguard their future. What we discover here about improving and expanding quality habitat will benefit the species elsewhere too.