Willow Tit Welfare: Wetland Woodland Conservation

Key Welfare Considerations

• Willow tits have declined by 94% in the UK since 1970 — among the most severe declines of any resident bird.
• Uniquely among UK tits, willow tits excavate their own nest holes in rotting wood rather than using natural cavities.
• Loss of wet woodland and scrub with suitable rotting wood for excavation is the primary welfare habitat decline driver.
• Birch, alder, and willow scrub on waterlogged ground provide optimal willow tit welfare habitat.
• Competing blue and great tits may exclude willow tits from suitable breeding welfare habitat.
• Willow tit diet of invertebrates and seeds requires wet woodland with diverse structural complexity.
• Sallow (grey willow) management provides both soft wood for excavation and invertebrate welfare food.
• Deer browsing prevents regeneration of willow scrub — welfare impact of deer management is critical.
• Water table management maintaining wet conditions supports the rotting wood willow tits need for nesting welfare.
• Willow tit populations have become fragmented — connectivity between welfare habitats requires landscape management.
• The RSPB and local wildlife trusts are targeting willow tit conservation at key wetland woodland sites.
• Volunteer willow tit survey data provides welfare population trend information for targeted conservation.
• Leaving standing deadwood and creating rotting wood features directly benefits willow tit welfare.
• Grey squirrel control at willow tit sites reduces nest predation welfare pressure.
• Willow tit welfare recovery requires landscape-scale wet woodland creation and protection over decades.