Johnny Allan
Dip or Glory
Hi Rob,
as far as I recall, the birds were not re-located and not submnitted.
Kind regards
Johnny Allan
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Willow Tits in Surrey (1 Viewer)
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Hi Rob,
as far as I recall, the birds were not re-located and not submnitted.
Kind regards
Johnny Allan
Farnboro John
Well-known member
It is no longer possible to find Willow Tits along the Basingstoke Canal and its environs (including Dogmersfield Lake, Tundry Pond and Springhead) and the old reliable site of Butter Wood has been silent these last four years at least. It is possible I suppose that one or two might cling on beyond the other side of RAF Odiham but I don't go there often and when I do (usually after Little Owl or Grey partridge, the latter also practically annihilated locally) Willow Tits fail to leap out at me.
Marsh Tits remain at all the above sites.
When Lee speaks of a large forestry area in North Hampshire abutting Berkshire he must mean Bramshill (is that right Lee?), but my regular travels through there in search of herps have not yielded Willow Tits: Ravens overhead are now more frequent there.
John
Alex Bowes
New member
Hi,
I joined BirdForum just to comment on this.
Although I haven't seen any this year, Willow Tits were certainly in woods to the south of Wisley Airfiield (known as Hookwood) last year and for at least three years before that.
This is private land, and access is only permitted to certain people and even then only at certain times. This makes it very difficult to monitor the population at all. However, Willow Tit are still present in these woods. I think one was ringed here as part of the survey by the BTO but I have had no clarification on that.
See the 'patch map' on: http://bowesbirdingblog.blogspot.com/ for exact location.
Hope this helps,
Alex
I joined BirdForum just to comment on this.
Although I haven't seen any this year, Willow Tits were certainly in woods to the south of Wisley Airfiield (known as Hookwood) last year and for at least three years before that.
This is private land, and access is only permitted to certain people and even then only at certain times. This makes it very difficult to monitor the population at all. However, Willow Tit are still present in these woods. I think one was ringed here as part of the survey by the BTO but I have had no clarification on that.
See the 'patch map' on: http://bowesbirdingblog.blogspot.com/ for exact location.
Hope this helps,
Alex
The sniper
Well-known member
Hi mate,I must admit to Arlington my lorry up at the time and going for a look but to no avail!!!
The sniper
Well-known member
Hi mate,I must admit to parking my lorry up at the time and going for a look but to no avail!!!
RJSeargent
Birding at the taxpayer's expense. Head down, bin
John,
RAFOS included Willow Tit on their survey of RAF Odiham last year. A RAFOS contact also states he has had them in the lay-by between Odiham and Farnham (north of Crondall I suspect).
Rich
sparrowbirder
Well-known member
Willow tit has declined markedly in the North too,used to be relatively common when I started birding 30 years ago in Merseyside /SW Lancs now can be hard to find,still a pocket of birds around Burscough/Rufford,most of the old habitat is still their not sure really what the cause of the decline is,its a shame its a bird I used to take for granted when I was birding my local area as a kid
Farnboro John
Well-known member
The usual lay-by for Willow Tit was the one alongside the woods around Dogmersfield Lake. It is just possible there may still be a pair in there but they have eluded me for some years and they used to be easy, so I have my doubts.
John
RJSeargent
Birding at the taxpayer's expense. Head down, bin
RJSeargent
Birding at the taxpayer's expense. Head down, bin
Being an exiled Mancunian I get to see them at home yearly at Pennington Flash which, in some respects is the only place I know they will be seen almost on every visit.
I joined BirdForum today to specifically comment on this thread. I am an independent Environmental Consultant, a birder of 20 years and have for the last 13 months been employed by an estate south of the the A3 in Surrey (details withheld) to produce an impact statement for a proposed Golf Course on my client's land. The land has a significantly sized woodland with most trees over 200 years old. I have lived on the outskirts of West London throughout and have visited and surveyed the land daily. Apart from a thriving Doormouse population, 2 pairs of Lesser Spotted Woodpecker and a small breeding population of Mandarin I have found 3 pairs of Willow Tit with males singing throughout the spring. I did not appreciate the magnitude of this until I found this thread. I cannot disclose the sight due to confidentiality but there appear to be isolated populations of Willow Tit in Surrey. I am happy to take PMs on this but urge Surrey birders to think out of the box and look at areas where you would expect Willow Tits to occur (you might be surprised). Some of the comments have been rather disappointing on this thread and said individuals (you know who you are) might want to get out a bit more and look for this species; you will be aware this this species is declining and a better understanding of its distribution is paramount.
Steve
Steve
Clive Watson
Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit ampheta
Points taken, but it may be that most or all remaining Surrey Willow Tits might be restricted to private land unfortunately. Sounds like it'd be good to keep that woodland too...
Dave Harris
Well-known member
Steve
Thanks for sharing this with us. Were you intending to submit them? I'd be grateful if you could supply some notes on these birds so the record doesn't get lost. (keep the location secret if you wish). You can download a rare bird form from the Surrey Bird Club website here:
http://www.surreybirdclub.org.uk/how_to_report.html
Regards
Dave
Dave,
thanks. Will do. If it helps I think that the current economic climate will put pay to an Golf Course!:t:
I am back home watching Chough from my back door - heaven!
Steve
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RJSeargent
Birding at the taxpayer's expense. Head down, bin
Steve,
PM sent. Understand if you cannot answer. Not that I noticed but you might want to look at your mammalian spelling in your post.
Rich
PM sent. Understand if you cannot answer. Not that I noticed but you might want to look at your mammalian spelling in your post.
Rich
Richard. PM returned. Thanks for pointing out my massive mistake; that's my credentials out of the window and will teach me not to use Blackberry in the future!
Steve
