Coal Tits - are they common and I'm just missing them?

[Fozzybear]

Hi all, this is a bit of a beginner's question so excuse me if I'm being dim:

have been watching birds for a year and a half in a mostly very local way (probably >95% of my birdwatching is within walking distance of my house since I don't drive) but in that time I've only seen one Coal Tit in Essex (plus one in Norfolk). It may well be that it's because I'm not observant enough (possible) and need new glasses (very possible!) but another birdwatcher I met up with recently commented about hardly seeing them here too - what's the deal with Coal Tits in Essex? Are they here in good numbers? Are there only certain places you really see them? Are we both blind and need a good drubbing for missing the most common and widespread bird in the county? ;)

My one and only sighting was at the far east end of Great Baddow near Chelmsford, in a little alleyway behind some industrial units - I was amazed to find one there and was really chuffed for the rest of the day! :t:

Also - Nuthatches? Are they very common and widespread? Have yet to see one although I had a glimpse of 'something' a while ago at the Chelmer Valley reserve in Chelmsford where the blur out of the side of my eye looked a little like it could have been one. I've heard them in Ipswich but never seen one.

[DaveN]

Hi Paul

Coal Tits although not as abundant as Blue Tits and Great Tits are certainly here in good numbers. Their numbers will be boosted in winter my migrants too. They're not the easiest of birs to see because of the nature of how they feed, ie up in the canopy. Their preferred habitat is conifer woods and plantations so if you can familarise yourself with their calls it will make it much easier.

Nuthatches are fairly common and I believe have increased in recent years. They prefer mature woodland and can be surprisingly hard to see. Nuthatches don't travel far from their breeding grounds and young will even stay near to where they are born. Listen out for their loud and vocal calls.

[davercox]

DaveN is absolutely right - both species are much more easily found using your ears than your eyes. (Coal Tits are pretty common round here at the moment.)

If you're not familiar with their calls then there are any amount of good websites offering examples: try the RSPB for instance.

[JoanT]

DaveN is absolutely right - both species are much more easily found using your ears than your eyes. (Coal Tits are pretty common round here at the moment.)

If you're not familiar with their calls then there are any amount of good websites offering examples: try the RSPB for instance.

Agree with getting to know the calls. Look in fir trees much more associated with the different types of these. In neighbouring Herts there are many 2K tetrads which do not have Coal Tit recorded in them for the winter which shows that they can be thinly distributed in places. Look in groups of connifers learn the sound or think that sound is different and you should see one. A 2K square is 4 of the squares on the larger orange pathfinder maps and is the recording area for the new BTO atlas if the county is doing their own Atlas. You can see the Herts one via the Herts Bird Club WEB site http://www.hertsatlas.org.uk/2007/CT.shtml and you might find something similar for Essex which will certainly help you find Coal Tits

[joannec]

I agree with all that's been said above about listening for them and looking in conifers. Another place you can look that is not so well known is heathland. I don't know if Essex has any but Coal tits will feed on heather seeds in winter.

[Fozzybear]

Good to know they're around and if they are hard to spot (the one we saw at Holkham woods certainly was) then it's not surprising I've not really seen many yet. There are small areas of heath at Galleywood Common so I'll have to take a wander down there and check out the canopy and the heather - I'll dig out my bird call cd and try to learn the calls too.

Probably because I've not really been to woodland that much (some small spinneys mostly) I'm not really in the right places to see Nuthatches but I'll keep looking. Thanks all. :t:

[h14nha]

Hi Paul,
Are you using binoculars to view birds ? Coal Tits tend not to hand around for long. I have them feeding on my feeders at the moment, they hop on the feeder take some seed and fly off to eat it, then come back. If your eyesights not too good then you can easily mistake them for Great Tits.
I regularly walk mature broad leaved woodland and never fail to see Nuthatches. Once you recognise their whistle call, I would imagine they'd be easy to track down. Saying that it always amazes me when people post to ask for advice to see certain species in certain areas, things that I see regularly. Dippers spring to mind, usually the very first bird I see as I cross the river bridge on my walks, but Kingfishers, Green Woodpeckers Bullfinches also.
Invest in a cd with birdsong, it made a difference for my finding and identifying common but shy species.
Good luck with your Nuthatch quest, look in 'mature' woodland for them.
Regards
Ian

[Viv Connett]

Thorndon Country Park near Brentwood has both Coal Tits and Nuthatches going to the feeders near the visitor centre so very easy to see. Also try Hockley Woods - certainly both of them used to be there although I haven't seen nay recently. You might also get the bonus of a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker!

[Ruby]

Hi Paul,

Some good advice already given - but one tip that is particularly useful in the winter is to find and carefully check out any tit-flocks in the woods....

Outside of the breeding season, small woodland birds tend to stick together (I imagine that this helps with avoiding predators and also taking advantage of joint feeding...) and you can often see some 'goodies' tagging along behind a flock.

The flocks are often led by Long-tailed Tits - which is handy, given their loud and distinctive calls - followed by Great Tits and Blue Tits, with the goodies bringing up the rear, which can often include things like Coal Tits, Crests, Marsh Tits, Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Redpolls etc...

So.... find your tit flock, get in the way, grill them carefully as they pass you, paying particular attention to the ones at the back!!


Good luck.... Ray

[dcweather]

I would say you are right in general about parts of Essex, especially the South. I have rarely seen Nuthatches or Coal Tits over 50 years of casual bird watching but now I am retired and have more time I have found them in isolated hot spots. The Thorndon Park region is one of the better ones in the South of the County.
Dave

[bornwild]

although i had seen coal tits in my garden years ago i had never seen a nuthatch untill this year when i was in sherwood forrest but now i moved a few miles away i'm in north west uk there is nuthatches in woodland across the road from me i hope and prey i get them in my new garden set up 2 feeding stations to attract all manor of birds and have a good list so far so fingers crossed for a nuthatch my fav bird of the moment

bornwild x

[E.T.]

Thorndon Country Park near Brentwood has both Coal Tits and Nuthatches going to the feeders near the visitor centre so very easy to see. Also try Hockley Woods - certainly both of them used to be there although I haven't seen nay recently. You might also get the bonus of a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker!

Coal Tits at Fingringhoe Field centre too :t:

[TomW]

Thornden Park also good for Treecreeper, another bird that's easy to overlook, but once you get your eye in you see them everywhere.
And don't forget the original wild wood, Epping Forest, should have good numbers of Coal Tit, saw my first Nuthatch there, after 20 minutes scrambling through the undergrowth following its call.
Cheers
tom

[Steve Arlow]

Apologies for the late addition to the thread.

In Hockley Woods Coal Tits no longer occur, indeed they no longer occur in any of the woods, including Belfairs, in South East Essex and are now a local rarity.

There has been a steady decline of Coal Tis in South East Essex over the past 15years with none now occuring in the last strongholds of Hockley and Belfairs Woods, following a similar fate of Marsh and Willow Tits here. The odd wanderer may crop up now and again in out of the way places in winter and in migration, notably continental birds.

Also Nuthatch in these woods has also gone into retreat with the main car park at Hockley being the only reliable site for them there and even now there's probably only one pair present. The oppsoite is true of the also locally gone Lesser Spotted Woodpecker now making a come back in Hockley with March being the best time to seek out this bird in the main clearing.

I suspect Thorndon and Hatfield Forests still have reasonable populations.

[Ruby]

Apologies for the late addition to the thread.

In Hockley Woods Coal Tits no longer occur, indeed they no longer occur in any of the woods, including Belfairs, in South East Essex and are now a local rarity.

There has been a steady decline of Coal Tis in South East Essex over the past 15years with none now occuring in the last strongholds of Hockley and Belfairs Woods, following a similar fate of Marsh and Willow Tits here. The odd wanderer may crop up now and again in out of the way places in winter and in migration, notably continental birds.

Also Nuthatch in these woods has also gone into retreat with the main car park at Hockley being the only reliable site for them there and even now there's probably only one pair present. The oppsoite is true of the also locally gone Lesser Spotted Woodpecker now making a come back in Hockley with March being the best time to seek out this bird in the main clearing.

I suspect Thorndon and Hatfield Forests still have reasonable populations.

Hi Steve,

Are there any theories to explain the decline of Coal Tit and Nuthatch in SE Essex?

I live in NE Surrey - so maybe 40m from Hockley as the crow flies - and the situation here couldn't be more different. Both species are common - to the extent that you don't have to go to prime habitat to see them, I have both species regularly in my suburban garden - you certainly can't enter any patch of suitable woodland without seeing/hearing several Nuthatches. Coal Tits are perhaps slightly less common these days, but any decline would be very marginal (if at all)

We have already lost Willow Tit, Willow Warbler, Wood Warbler from the area, so obviously concerned about any more woodland species that may be suffering. I reckon I see Marsh Tits on maybe 10% of outings to suitable woodland.

Interestingly enough, LSWs (which had been virtually absent from the area) have shown a slight increase in reported sightings in the last year or so, but still remain few and far between....


All the best... Ray

[Steve Arlow]

For Hockley and Belfairs Woods these have been heavily coppiced over the years, one wood to much so in my opinion with far to many mature trees have been taken out creating a more parkland habitat than a wood. I think this has had an affect on the Coal Tit and Nuthatch populations in my area.

However saying that several other woods that have not been over coppiced have also lost their Coal Tits and Nuthatches. Perhaps another factor is that these woods are fragmented, split from each other being in a semi urban area, and there isn't the movement of birds between the woods there would have been 20 odd years ago thus when an isolated pair die off there isn't any others to replace them. This is a real shame as Nuthatch is amongst my favourite of all passerines in the UK.

Treecreepers are also showing a significant decline across my local woods with only Hockley Woods being the main stronghold, this is a little odd given the decline there of Nuthatch.

[Ruby]

Interesting Steve thanks...

Even though I have lived in Surrey for the last 30+ years, I was actually born in Hockley and still visit the woods from time to time..... Last time I was there was probably 2 years ago in the Spring - don't recall seeing any Coal Tits or Nuthatches but did see an obliging family of Treecreepers which were nesting behind some raised bark of a mature tree.

I may well have a look for LSW in a couple of months, and will post a note of what else I see....


All the best... Ray