Very promising results for protecting Willow Tit nests and good work by @wildhorizons.bsky.social . We love all Woodpeckers, but Great Spots are the culprits here.

Wild Horizons@wildhorizons.bsky.social · last mo.

The last Willow Tit nest of the season now fledged, successfully protected from Great Spotted Woodpecker predation. No GSW predation in protected nests this year, in stark contrast to 100% predation rate by GSW in unprotected nests. Very promising results.

Check out this wonderful guest blog post on Willow tit conservation by our own MMU PhD student @bensecker.bsky.social for @songbirdsurvival.bsky.social www.songbird-survival.org.uk/post/guest-b...

Guest blog: Why are willow tits disappearing from our woodlands?

Guest blog from Ben Secker who is is a Doctoral Researcher at Manchester Metropolitan University studying the willow tit. From SongBird Survival, your voice for songbirds and other small birds in the UK, a specialist charity.

songbird-survival.org.uk

The last Willow Tit nest of the season now fledged, successfully protected from Great Spotted Woodpecker predation. No GSW predation in protected nests this year, in stark contrast to 100% predation rate by GSW in unprotected nests. Very promising results.

Young Willow Tits have distinctive food-demand calls, heard in this clip: a musical 'dee-doo-derr'. Very different from Marsh Tit (sissi-sit). Some adult WT calls here too: a nasal 'nerr nerr', sounds like having an argument with a Yorkshireman. More in the book: www.bloomsbury.com/uk/marsh-tit...

Wild Horizons@wildhorizons.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Always nice to see late nests successful. 8 Willow Tit nestlings now fledged from this protected cavity. They’re being fed by both parents, moving through a beautiful valley that’s in the process of rewilding. Soon they’ll disperse, search for a mate and home range and they’re only a few weeks old!

Always nice to see late nests successful. 8 Willow Tit nestlings now fledged from this protected cavity. They’re being fed by both parents, moving through a beautiful valley that’s in the process of rewilding. Soon they’ll disperse, search for a mate and home range and they’re only a few weeks old!

Update: An eerie silence at this nest site today. With the usual footpath access blocked, we could only observe the nest from c. 100 m downhill. A GSW has broken into the side of the cavity, causing another nest failure. In 2 seasons we’ve found 3 nests in this territory, all destroyed by GSW.

Wild Horizons@wildhorizons.bsky.social · 3mo ago

The stakes are high for Willow Tits at this time of the year… literally! This pair are still nest building in their cavity c. 6 m up in this Ash snag. They’ve moved 300 m northwest from their first attempt, destroyed by Great Spotted Woodpecker on 27th March. This is likely third try now!

Over several days, a male Great Spotted Woodpecker has spent more than 8 minutes trying to open up this protected Willow Tit nest. No way into this cavity! Protective mesh guard holding strong.

Another couple of Willow Tit nests have fledged over the last few days. This fledgling wasn’t feeling particularly adventurous at first, looking a little confused that it was suddenly on the wrong side of the hole! So far no predations in protected nests this season.

Nice behaviour capture. At Monks Wood we've found rings of tit broods in Tawny Owl boxes, either caught just after fledging or, like this, just before fledging. Springwatch has filmed Jays doing this at tit nests too.

Wild Horizons@wildhorizons.bsky.social · 2mo ago

The last few days in the nest are a dangerous time for Willow Tit nestlings, their constant loud begging calls giving away their location. On this occasion they attracted the attention of a Tawny Owl, which tried its luck as one of the nestlings was calling from the entrance. This was a close call!

The last few days in the nest are a dangerous time for Willow Tit nestlings, their constant loud begging calls giving away their location. On this occasion they attracted the attention of a Tawny Owl, which tried its luck as one of the nestlings was calling from the entrance. This was a close call!

Post-industrial sites in Wales are important refuges for many species. This site is no exception - closing down in late 80s, it’s now a mosaic of wet woodland, streams, ponds, meadow and shrubland. Willow Tits, Dingy Skippers, Glow-worms… Myriad species are quietly thriving, with zero management.

One of 3 Willow Tit fledglings leaving this protected nest, making first steps, hops and flaps into the wild world. A dense understorey is important at this stage, where fledglings can easily hide in cover whilst being fed by their parents and learning to fly.

A real drama unfolded for this family of Willow Tits today, when their nest (2nd attempt this year) was attacked and cavity opened by GSW, after their 1st nest was predated during the incubation stage. Luckily we found, repaired and meshed it with 3 nestlings still inside, before GSW came back!

Willow Tits in Carmarthenshire often share their home ranges with another vulnerable species. This WT nest cavity from last year is the ideal place for a Hazel Dormouse. The abundant and diverse understorey in this wood creates a perfect habitat for this small mammal that rarely touches the ground.

It’s almost time to say farewell for the season to this amazing pair of Willow Tits, their 8 nestlings due to fledge tomorrow. They’ve made it through attempted Blue Tit eviction, GSW attack, even their own nest cavity falling apart (with a little help from us repairing it). Good luck little ones!

Willow Tit nest protected today in an Ash snag c. 3.5 m above ground. The entrance hole was slightly enlarged by GSW already when we arrived. 19 minutes after the mesh was installed, a male GSW landed on the Ash trunk adjacent to the nest! Now 8 safe nestlings, due to fledge in next 4-5 days.

Good to have Willow Tit nests protected against GSW attacks with mesh guards. It proved invaluable in deterring this Jay that was looking for an easy meal snatching nestlings from this extremely soft and deteriorated snag.

It’s amazing how quickly Willow Tit nestlings grow. This nest is the smallest clutch of the season, 6 eggs from which sadly only 3 hatched. These clips are filmed 8 days apart, showing the transformation from tiny pink wrigglers to exceptionally cute Willow Tits! They’ll fledge in about 5 days.

Willow Tits fledging thick and fast at present. We’ve had nests fledge on Sunday, Monday, and today we confirmed breeding in a territory by finding fledglings in a family group. Checked in on these nestlings today (c. 13 days old), thankfully in the shade by standing water so should be cool enough.

It’s magical to be surrounded by Willow Tit fledglings. This one left the nest yesterday morning and is now c. 330 m northeast with 6 siblings and 2 tired parents! Interestingly, they’re just c. 85 m away from another Willow Tit nest due to fledge tomorrow. It’s about to get busy in this woodland!

This is the most beautiful Willow Tit nest of the season so far. The female is currently incubating a clutch of 7 eggs in an ivy covered alder snag beside a stream.

This male Willow Tit is a Superdad! Last year he permanently injured his leg fighting off a GSW when his nestlings were about to fledge. It’s been wonderful to follow him this year all season, now caring for his 7 nestlings almost ready to fledge. Good luck to him and his family!

Book discount! Treat yourself this Bank Holiday, there's a whopping 30% discount on my Poyser book on everything you wanted to know about Marsh Tits & Willow Tits - hardback, flexi/paperback and Ebook. Perfect beach reading 😉 www.bloomsbury.com/uk/marsh-tit... #ornithology #ukbirding

The Marsh Tit and The Willow Tit

'A superb account of the ecology and behaviour of two declining bird species whose lives are intimately shaped by their woodland habitats.' – Rob Fuller'There c…

bloomsbury.com

It’s lovely approaching a Willow Tit nest and hearing the distinctive “Dee Doo Der” of nestlings demanding food. These 7 are almost ready to fledge, with the parents often feeding them at the nest entrance. It’s hard to even endoscope without tickling them on the head!

It’s a busy time for Willow Tits. In a couple of hours today, at this nest the pair had to chase off a Blue Tit, Grey Squirrel, Great Spotted Woodpecker and a Marsh Tit. That’s on top of constantly feeding the 7 nestlings inside this (now protected) willow snag, feeding themselves, AND bath time!

Willow Tit nest protection in action. A mossy bark camouflage conceals the protective mesh guard underneath. The Willow Tits continued feeding nestlings within 5 minutes, whilst a Great Spotted Woodpecker was foraging in the canopy above. Nest now monitored with a trail camera.

New Willow Tit nest found today in a completely unmanaged wet woodland, growing on a former colliery for the last 30 years. Beautiful habitat with a dense and diverse understorey. The nest cavity is in an alder snag, with the entrance a metre above the ground concealed under Bramble!

This year @birdsinwales.bsky.social kindly awarded us a grant to purchase trail camera equipment. @naturespy.bsky.social have also generously loaned us trail cameras. These cameras allow us to monitor Willow Tit nests at a landscape scale, gathering important data around the clock.

Managed to spend a few hours this week watching a pair of our Willow Tits bringing a variety of food items to the nest. Mainly caterpillars, but also many spiders, aphids and craneflies. A balanced diet keeping the full brood healthy so far, and should be fledging in the next few days... #UKBirding

Another Willow Tit nest found today, a clutch of 7 nestlings in a willow snag in wet woodland. Interestingly, again there’s lots of moss in the cavity, suggesting there have been some curious goings on in the last few weeks!