Willow Tit decline (1 Viewer)

[Andrew Whitehouse]

I was quite startled to read this tweet about the continuing crash in Willow Tit numbers in the UK.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1658550512151678981

I think the area mentioned is one of the main strongholds for them in northern England. It does seem that this species, which was quite common when I was a kid in the Midlands in the 80s, is likely to be close to national extinction fairly soon. I know there have been various arguments put forward as to the reasons for the decline, but the causes still seem less obvious than in most cases, given the lack of noticeable changes in habitat. What do folks think is going on and are there any areas left where they're still doing okay? Are they doing better elsewhere in Europe or are there big problems everywhere?

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

To partially address my last question, here's a quote from the 2019 Rare Breeding Birds Panel report on Willow Tit:

Willow Tit is the UK’s fastest declining resident species, but conservation concern is not just restricted to the UK: there was a 73% decline across Europe between 1980 and 2017.

 

[Farnboro John]

My perception is that they are now being followed in decline by Marsh Tit, which are also becoming progressively more difficult to find anywhere near home albeit from a larger base to begin with.

Hypotheses might start with Great Spotted Woodpeckers and also involve the relative success of Blue and Great Tits.

I would also like to put in a complaint about the almost universal removal of dead standing wood against the unlikely and of zero conservation downside of the possibility of falling dead timber killing one of the 70 million pest species primates in Britain.

John

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

My perception is that they are now being followed in decline by Marsh Tit, which are also becoming progressively more difficult to find anywhere near home albeit from a larger base to begin with.

Hypotheses might start with Great Spotted Woodpeckers and also involve the relative success of Blue and Great Tits.

I would also like to put in a complaint about the almost universal removal of dead standing wood against the unlikely and of zero conservation downside of the possibility of falling dead timber killing one of the 70 million pest species primates in Britain.

John

All those species mentioned in this article on supplementary feeding, so there's potentially a strong connection:

Killing with kindness: Does widespread generalised provisioning of wildlife help or hinder biodiversity conservation efforts?

Provisioning of wildlife with food, water and breeding sites is a globally ubiquitous phenomenon. While some provisioning is targeted at single specie…

www.sciencedirect.com

 

[Jos Stratford]

Are they doing better elsewhere in Europe or are there big problems everywhere?

I can't speak definitively for all Lithuania, but I don't get any impression of a noticeable decline in this country, at least in the areas I visit. My feeders are, I believe, a reasonable snapshot of their status - outnumbered by Marsh Tit, but small numbers each winter, generally two or three Willow Tits vs 12-20 Marsh Tits. Willow Tits were actually higher this last winter, 4-5 present. Similar picture to breeding pattern.

 

[Jos Stratford]

My perception is that they are now being followed in decline by Marsh Tit, which are also becoming progressively more difficult to find anywhere near home albeit from a larger base to begin with.

Hypotheses might start with Great Spotted Woodpeckers and also involve the relative success of Blue and Great Tits.

I would also like to put in a complaint about the almost universal removal of dead standing wood against the unlikely and of zero conservation downside of the possibility of falling dead timber killing one of the 70 million pest species primates in Britain.

John

Seven species of woodpecker on my land, eight if including Wryneck. Great Spotted very common. Blue and Great Tits abundant. Still Marsh and Willow Tit in healthy numbers.

One feature of my land however is the zero removal of dead wood ...and thanks to Beaver damage and flooding, there is a lot of it, both fallen and standing. This is also generally a feature of much of Lithuania, lots of non-commercial areas with standing dead trees.

 

[Sangahyando]

Anecdotally, I think I've seen/heard fewer Willow Tits in my corner of Germany, but didn't investigate enough to prove anything.

One feature of my land however is the zero removal of dead wood ...and thanks to Beaver damage and flooding, there is a lot of it, both fallen and standing. This is also generally a feature of much of Lithuania, lots of non-commercial areas with standing dead trees.

Well yes, and some differences in climate, overall human population density, land usage (beyond what you've already listed), etc., which all put together probably makes a big difference from the situation in Britain or other parts of Western Europe.

 

[Frank van Drogen]

I would also like to put in a complaint about the almost universal removal of dead standing wood against the unlikely and of zero conservation downside of the possibility of falling dead timber killing one of the 70 million pest species primates in Britain.

I have noticed that here (Zurich-CH) they have started cutting dead trees off at 4 or 6 meters above ground. I haven't been observing long enough, but at least we seem to still have a variety of woodpeckers year around.

(Never encountered a Willow Tit, I run into Marsh Tit once a week or so).

 

[KenM]

Along with a good few other species, breeding Willow Tits vanished during the ‘70’s in my NELondon area followed by Marsh Tit in the ‘80’s, Red-backed Shrikes in the late ‘50’s, Wryneck in the early ‘20’s, Nightingale in ‘50’s, Yellow Wags in the ‘70’s, Yellow Buntings in the late ‘50’s, Tree Sparrows in the ‘60’s, Skylark, Linnet, Turtle Dove, Reed Bunting, Redstart, Tree Pipit and Spot Fly by the ‘70’s’.
A very “large” percentage of the local avian diversity, shame I won’t be around for the final countdown….thank god for Ring-necked Parakeets!😮

 

[jurek]

I suppose, part of the problem is that habitat management aimed at protecting birds of open wetlands and meadows prevents wet thickets and wet forest for Willow Tit and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker.

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

I suppose, part of the problem is that habitat management aimed at protecting birds of open wetlands and meadows prevents wet thickets and wet forest for Willow Tit and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker.

Maybe, although there's a comment in the Twitter thread I mention above that the habitat hasn't changed in that area, at least in obvious ways. There is still a lot of habitat in Britain for them, at least on the face of it.

 

[Hotspur]

There is a pretty reasonable evidence that it is increased intra-guild survival during winter by blue tits and great tits due to bird feeders which leads to them taking over Willow tit nests. Willow tits are the only species able to excavate their own nest (of the 3). Add in predation from GSW and general decline in habitats and insect populations and you have a big issue.

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

There is a pretty reasonable evidence that it is increased intra-guild survival during winter by blue tits and great tits due to bird feeders which leads to them taking over Willow tit nests. Willow tits are the only species able to excavate their own nest (of the 3). Add in predation from GSW and general decline in habitats and insect populations and you have a big issue.

I agree with all of that (and referenced the Shutt and Lees paper above). The startling thing is the speed of the decline, though perhaps it's just a perfect storm of problems causing that.

 

[Torchepot]

Thanks for posting this Andrew. I’m really shocked as the Derwent Valley was featured really heavily in the “Back from the Brink” Willow Tit Conservation Handbook which I happened to be re-reading only yesterday due to the loss of Willow Tit on our land this year!
Great Spotted Woodpecker is a suspect both in the Handbook and In The birds of Wales 2021 but there’s no definitive proof, though the huge increase in GSW population (more than 300%) since the 1970s and quoted predation rates of 20% - 35% in TBOW are concerning.
In our little valley Willow Tits seemed to be content on our land but I never found a nest, saw chicks or more than two birds at any one time. Last year I was really concerned that there only appeared to be one bird present - then that one disappeared too. There is no significant negative change to habitat here - the reverse actually as we’ve been encouraging scrub and planting birch and willow. No shortage of rotten wood either - loads of dead trees and I’ve been propping up dead willow trunks in likely looking places.
This feels to me that they are failing to raise broods for whatever reason and then it’s simply a matter of time

 

[JTweedie]

The RSPB Magazine mentioned this too, quoting a population of 5700 pairs.

Is it just British birds that are in decline?

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

The RSPB Magazine mentioned this too, quoting a population of 5700 pairs.

Is it just British birds that are in decline?

See my second post. The most recent Rare Breeding Birds report (2019) gives an estimate of 2750 pairs in the UK. It's kind of a shock that Willow Tit is now reported on by the RBBP - something unimaginable when I was young.

 

[JTweedie]

See my second post. The most recent Rare Breeding Birds report (2019) gives an estimate of 2750 pairs in the UK. It's kind of a shock that Willow Tit is now reported on by the RBBP - something unimaginable when I was young.

The RSPB figure is from the National Willow Tit Survey, December 2022, so more recent that the RBBP report. Maybe they had different methodologies for counting the pairs.

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

The RSPB figure is from the National Willow Tit Survey, December 2022, so more recent that the RBBP report. Maybe they had different methodologies for counting the pairs.

Ah - that's good to know. I should check out that report.

 

[JTweedie]

Ah - that's good to know. I should check out that report.

Here's a blog about it from November 2022: Results from the National Willow Tit survey - Saving Nature With Science - Our work - The RSPB Community

Key part:

Survey results

Although badly affected by Covid-19 restrictions in 2020 and 2021, it has been possible to produce estimates at country and county levels across the range in England, Scotland and Wales. Overall, data from over 1,900 tetrads were used for the survey analysis: c1,400 in England, c140 in Scotland and c430 in Wales.

The survey results show that the willow tit population in Great Britain is estimated at nearly 5,700 breeding pairs of which 76% were in England, 21% in Wales and 3% in Scotland. The ‘top 3’ ceremonial counties across Britain were North Yorkshire, County Durham and Derbyshire. In Wales, most of the population were in Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Breconshire and Montgomeryshire. Almost all the willow tits in Scotland were in Dumfries & Galloway.

 

[Torchepot]

Interesting that one is almost exactly half the total of the other - could this be a mix up between breeding pairs and breeding birds?