The challenge facing willow tits
The willow tit is the UK’s fastest declining resident bird, having lost 94% of its population since the 1970’s. Now red-listed as a species in danger of extinction, we need to step in before it’s too late.
This little bird may look small and unassuming, but it has built a special place for itself in a rather under-rated habitat – wet woodland. This type of damp, overgrown, scruffy-looking habitat is often over-looked compared to more familiar, picture postcard woodland types. In fact it’s a “des res” for willow tit with lots of soft, dead wood for making their nest holes in and far fewer of the canopy trees favoured by their competitors and predators. These willow tit hot spots have suffered from declines in quality – becoming drier, maturing into canopy woodland and invaded by non-native species – or have been lost entirely through clearance for land use change such as development.
Remaining pockets of willow tit habitat have become isolated, leaving willow tits, who don’t tend to move very far, marooned, which affects population sizes and makes them less able to respond to additional pressures such as climate change.
So the challenges we are addressing are
1. to create more and better quality willow tit habitat, and
2. to connect habitat up to form a network which will allow willow tit numbers to increase and the species to become more resilient.
Why Bolton?
North West England is thought to be home to 15% of our remaining willow tits, who make the most of wet and scrubby post-industrial landscapes. Species records confirm Bolton hosts an important willow tit population but highlight the missing links in the movement network, making on the ground habitat improvements in the Bolton area crucial to the future survival of this species.
We also need to raise the profile of the willow tit and its requirements among landowners, land managers and the local residents of Bolton, to inspire pride in this special little creature, and to encourage action to protect and improve willow tit habitats and corridors so that willow tits always have a home in Bolton.
Bolton is an urban borough, and many of the communities our project works with experience high levels of deprivation (Indices of Multiple Deprivation levels 1-3), but it also has some amazing green spaces, areas of which Boltonians are rightly proud. Helping people discover and benefit from the wildlife on their doorsteps can create that deep connection with nature that can be so vital to wellbeing.
Our project, by connecting up sites in Bolton, will also play a part in creating the wider Nature Recovery Network in Greater Manchester. Willow tit is a Greater Manchester Local Nature Recovery Strategy (GM LNRS) priority species and our work is key to the strategy's delivery.
What are we doing?
Involving the people of Bolton and local volunteers every step of the way, our project team are taking structured and informed actions to make a real difference for our wonderful willow tits:
WHERE – Across Bolton, we are training up local citizen science volunteers to undertake willow tit surveys, confirming their presence or absence at sites. Along with baseline habitat surveys, this allows us to precisely target our habitat improvement and creation works.
HOW – Working with local landowners and stakeholders we are designing effective and appropriate habitat improvement works specific to each site.
WHAT – We are training more volunteers to work with our project team and contractors on creating ideal, and interconnected, willow tit habitats. Work includes a variety of approaches including coppicing and laying small trees, removing large canopy trees (as these favour predatory or competitor bird species), planting suitable scrub tree species, improving the understorey vegetation layer, re-wetting works as required, and controlling invasive species.
WHEN – work is starting now and planned to go on to early 2026 with current funding levels.
WHAT NEXT – To ensure the success of the new willow tit habitats we will undertake follow up monitoring and maintenance works for the next few years.
Alongside this we are running a community programme with schools, community groups and the wider public to foster understanding and appreciation of willow tits and wider wildlife.
Our vision
We want to see a Bolton willow tit population that is not only surviving, but thriving, with the places that it relies upon healthy and connected. Bolton people will be benefitting from the increased opportunity to connect with nature and take a sense of pride in how they are helping ‘their’ willow tits.
We will also seek to connect up the Bolton willow tit network with surrounding hot spot areas to strengthen and grow the overall north west willow tit population, creating a wider willow tit recovery network.
What we’ve done so far
The project is already getting going thanks to a grant from Defra’s Species Survival Fund. This means that any additional funding can be used straight away to make a real and tangible difference to the future of our willow tits.
Our dedicated project team has started creating a willow tit network across 9 sites in Bolton, where we are working in partnership with the landowner, Bolton Council, and other conservation groups.
This includes, so far:
- Training 35 volunteers to carry out willow tit surveys across 45 square kilometres in Bolton.
- Surveying the first project sites where habitat improvement and creation will take place.
- Creating a desired delivery package using recognised best practice, securing all necessary permissions, and setting plans in place to achieve this by working with volunteers, project staff and contractors.
- Recruiting over 90 volunteers to help out with habitat works and learn new skills which could help with future employment.
- Engaging nearly 200 people in Bolton to inform them and inspire them about the willow tit and its needs and what we can do to help it and other wildlife.
What have we got planned next?
Through our citizen science volunteer surveyors, and by talking to local communities and landowners, we have already identified further sites where habitat works could be undertaken to help benefit Bolton’s wonderful willow tits. We can also see where additional work is urgently needed on current project sites.
We also want to make sure we can properly look after improved sites when work is finished and keep supporting volunteers to help with this, as well as surveying so that species records stay up to date and help protect willow tit homes.
We need support to recruit and train more volunteers, lead more practical work parties, and buy more raw materials such as tree saplings and tools. We also want to continue to build on our community foundations to help the people of Bolton help our willow tits and their vital wild places. This will involve everything from running hands-on education sessions and working with groups and individuals from under-represented sectors of society, to public events such as bio-blitzes and awareness- raising campaigns.
How you can help
We are delighted to already be making a start on progressing our aims, but we really need to do so much more than we currently have the resource for. Our willow tit surveys have identified further links in the willow tit network that need strengthening. Our community engagement work so far has identified demand and enthusiasm among local people for getting more involved. With further support we can realise this potential, allowing more, and more diverse people to benefit, and creating more quality spaces for Bolton’s willow tits and the other creatures that rely on wet willow woodland habitat.
Currently funded work can run up to early 2026 but with more help we can do more in this time period and extend delivery. With more resource we can deliver a greater impact and give willow tits a greater chance of survival in Bolton.
What donations will fund
£36,000 : Will cover the cost of essential ongoing monitoring and maintenance across the newly created willow tit network in Bolton, keeping local communities involved up to at least 2031.
£30,340 : Is the missing amount required to help us release the full Defra grant for securing the survival of willow tit in Bolton.
£21,920 : Will allow us to work with local volunteers to enhance species richness and really embed willow tit habitat on 9 project sites across Bolton. This would allow us to:
- Recruit, train and provide valuable experience to at least 15 additional people, supporting skills for employment.
- Carry out further tree planting.
- Undertake further invasive species removal work.
£5,700 : Will enable a newly identified site in Bolton, spotted as a result of our citizen science surveys, to be improved and create a further essential link in the network for willow tits.
£2,450 : Would help us to reach an additional 70 local people in Bolton through our community engagement work, involving and informing them about their local wildlife, targeting hard-to-reach groups.
£1,810 : Would help us recruit an extra 10 citizen science volunteers, training them to carry out crucial willow tit surveying in new areas. This helps us ensure we are working in the right places, making a positive impact, and identifies future sites which could strengthen Bolton’s willow tit network. Species records gained through these surveys are also essential for protecting willow tit homes from proposed changes to land use.
Testimonials
"Volunteering with the Wet Willow Wildlife Project has helped me develop practical conservation skills and broaden my understanding of habitat management, while also improving my mental well-being. The staff at the Wildlife Trust have been supportive in providing guidance on how to transition into a conservation career and created a welcoming and inclusive environment in which to volunteer. I am excited to use my new knowledge and experience to forge a career in protecting and preserving nature." Andrea, Wet Willow Wildlife volunteer
“Lancashire Wildlife Trust’s willow tit work in Bolton is improving the quality of green space in our urban borough and helping communities to benefit from their local nature – as well as supporting this rare little bird.” Garry Parker, Assistant Director – Environment and Regulatory Services, Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council
Who is Lancashire Wildlife Trust?
The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester & North Merseyside is the largest conservation body in our region, and we work to enable wildlife’s recovery across our land and sea. We care for over 40 nature reserves, looking after over 1,288 hectares of wild places which are havens for rare and threatened species. We have the powerful voices of over 31,500 members, 4,000 volunteers and 140 staff, who work in partnership with others to conserve, restore, create and connect habitats and to increase species abundance; and to connect people with nature and help them to take action for wildlife, wherever they are.