Willow Tit at Willington – More of a ‘Status Quo’ Kind of Bird!

The adjacent Derbyshire Wildlife Trust site is known to have Willow Tits breeding on site and CEMEX Willington quarry has some great habitat that will also sustain these now rare birds. 

The Willow Tit is a Back from the Brink bird that is over 94% in decline: https://naturebftb.co.uk/the-projects/willow-tit/

In late July RSPB visited the quarry again to the to discuss with Site Manager, William Newton, the presence of Willow Tit on site, to see how the quarry can help these birds. The planned restoration of Willington will produce a great wetland site with ponds, fen and wet grassland along with the vital wet woodland that Willow tit depend on, complimenting the wildlife site next-door. 

Some of the restorations are looking really good and well established. There are a number of mature willow trees on site and areas of thicket-impenetrable bramble amongst damp vegetation that is perfect feeding for Willow Tit. The standing dead wood and broken tree limbs need to be kept too, wherever it is safe to do so, as this is future Willow Tit nesting habitat. 

Willow Tits excavate their nest sites from wood, in a similar way to Woodpeckers, although Willow Tits need rotting softer wood to use a rock music analogy, you could say Woodpeckers are ‘Metallica’, death metal fans - the robust head bangers of the bird world –whereas Willow Tit are more of a ‘Status Quo’ – soft rock kind of bird! 

Site Manager, Bill, will be undertaking some active management for Willow Tit, retaining dead wood and using some felled timber pined to trees, like nest boxes to ensure there’s plenty of opportunities for nesting and retaining those brambly areas for feeding.  

We are really pleased that CEMEX are working with RSPB and ‘Back from the Brink’ on Willow Tit at Willington, it will be the first CEMEX site to trial a joint RSPB/Willow Tit project.

Willow tit image credit: Tim Melling