Learn more about specialist woodland management activities taking place to improve the habitat for the Willow Tit.
Spring is not far away and already the harsh and distinctive sound of Willow Tit can be heard establishing and defending their territories in the wet woodland on Danes Moss . If you have the time to stand still and watch quietly you may be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of these tiny birds busily foraging in the canopy above. These are increasingly rare and precious moments because Willow Tit numbers have plummeted by 94% over the last 50 years.
Willow Tits are now the UK’s rarest breeding bird. The wet woodland on Danes Moss North is one of very few sites in east Cheshire with a breeding population of Willow Tit and that makes it a very special place indeed.
In spring Willow Tits excavate a nest hole in the rotten trunks and branches of young willow, elder and birch and they need a succession of young, permanently wet, woodland with a plentiful supply of rotten wood for nest hole excavation. But although they are surviving here now the wet woodland is a successional habitat and needs managing to keep it in the best possible condition for Willow Tit.
Ideal Willow tit habitat
In the very wet peaty soils, mature willows fall over but regrow young branches from the fallen trunks. This is known as ‘phoenix’ regrowth; it eventually forms dense thickets that provide ideal habitat for Willow Tit. However, where the ground is drier the willow trees can grow taller and straighter forming dense and shaded young woodland; these areas lack the tangle of branches and the luxuriant understorey which Willow Tit favour.
A plan for the wet woodland
To maintain the woodland at Danes Moss in the best possible condition for these rare birds the woodland needs management. Danes Moss Trust has prepared a Woodland Management Plan outlining the work required to maintain good Willow Tit habitat within the wet woodland. with the aim of maintaining and ideally increasing the population of Willow Tit across the site.
Managing the wet woodland
Danes Moss Trust recently gained permission from the landowners Barratt Redrow PLC to deploy specialist woodland conservation contractors to undertake some management work within two areas of the woodland just west of Turf Lane. The work, which was timed for early January to avoid disturbance during the breeding season, involved layering or hinging the willow using a technique akin to hedge-laying leaving the trees lying along the ground and still attached at the stump. This will allow coppice regrowth at the stump and ‘phoenix’ re-growth of young shoots along the trunk.
Willow grows rapidly from late winter and can grow several feet in one season so within a couple of years this work will create a dense thicket of young willow. Some wood will also begin to decay providing potential nesting opportunities and the increased light will allow the growth of an understorey providing additional foraging opportunities.
This work was funded by a grant from the Peak District National Park, Farming in Protected Landscapes Programme.
The woodland at Danes Moss – part of a wider network and a vital project
The Willow Tit at Danes Moss North are an important but isolated population within east Cheshire. Willow Tit are sedentary birds and avoid crossing open ground to establish new breeding territories so areas of wet woodland suitable for breeding need to be connected by hedgerows, woodland or scrub to other breeding populations to maintain a thriving Willow Tit population.
The work at Danes Moss is part of a wider project to create a network of suitable habitats enabling current populations to expand and disperse to secure the future of these threatened birds. You can read more about the Macc Wild Willow Tit project here.
However, creating connecting habitats between populations takes time and, in the meantime, it is vital that existing populations remain viable. The Trust hopes that the woodland management work at Danes Moss North will continue in future years with small areas managed each winter to maintain a succession of ideal habitat and ensure the continued survival of these wonderful but vulnerable birds.
