Our Red-listed endemic race of Willow Tit is the second-fastest declining bird species in the UK, after Turtle Dove, and is also monitored by the Rare Breeding Birds Panel (RBBP). RSPB, Lancashire Wildlife Trust and others have conducted research into the causes of decline, and eliminated a number of potential factors which seem unlikely to be driving the large scale declines. One of the potential causes that needs investigating further is whether deterioration in habitat quality is affecting this species. One of the main habitats that willow tits occupy in Britain is damp young woodland which is often short lived with sites frequently drying out and developing into mature woodland over 20-30 years. RSPB and other organisations, including Natural England, are currently trialling woodland management solutions for Willow Tit, and the species is part of the Back from the Brink HLF funded project involving the detailed study of daily movements and habitat use as well as habitat management.

However, due to the declining numbers, monitoring the species is becoming increasingly difficult. Data collected on Willow Tits are currently insufficient to enable robust population estimates, measures of change, or maps of current distribution to be produced; thus a national survey is needed if conservation work is going to be properly underpinned by evidence.

We are fortunate that Greater Manchester still holds an estimated 120 pairs, a significant proportion of the national population which makes it extremely important that the survey achieves a good level of coverage in our county. To avoid duplication of effort, the RSPB wishes to work with existing Willow Tit study groups and surveys across the country and fill in the gaps between these with additional coverage.

The Carbon Landscape Willow Tit survey was launched this year and volunteers have already collected data from 34 1-km squares. However, there are plenty of additional squares and tetrads which require coverage in 2019 and 2020. The Greater Manchester Local Record Centre will coordinate survey coverage across the ten GM districts and recorders will be able to submit their data online.

If you would like to take part in the survey and contribute to Willow Tit conservation in GM and nationally then there are two options:
1. Take on a 1-km square within the Carbon Landscape Citizen Science project boundary
2. Take on a tetrad (2-km square) elsewhere in GM
The available squares can be viewed and requested here Willow Tit Survey Squares
Select CL07 Willow Tit from the survey drop down menu. Instructions for registering with the GMLRC website and requesting a survey square are attached.

Two visits are required between mid-March and mid-April 2019 and involve a playback method using a standard (2-minute) recording of a combination of willow tit alarm calls and song and listening for a response. This has been successfully developed by the RSPB Willow Tit research project and the Lancashire Wildlife Trust and is used to identify the number of pairs present during the pre-breeding season when the birds are territorial.

If you would like more information about the survey please email
carbonlandscape@gmwildlife.org.uk



-- Edited by GM Local Record Centre on Tuesday 11th of December 2018 12:31:44 PM