willow tit discussion
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| Date |
15 Jan 2008 |
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| Map Reference |
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| Contact Info |
David Williams
Contact Email: davidwilliams@fireflyuk.net
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| Sighting Description |
Another Willow Tit Man trudges out of the woods! Near Misson in North Nottinghamshire there is some ex-MOD fenland, now owned by a Wildlife Trust, that has reverted to 100 hectares of secondary woodland. In 2005 and 2006 it was intensively surveyed and studied for the RSPB Willow Tit Project by Dr Alex Lewis and her able team. It was holding about 11 Willow Tit territories and considered to be densely populated. There were NO Marsh Tits and if a Marsh Tit had been seen, it would have been akin to being a rare vagrant no less. A pair of Willow Tits regularly used a nut feeder in the WT carpark, but note, just one pair. I was told that Willow Tits will not fly out of their territories to feed. There are probably not many garden feeders within willow tit territories and also I have read that they may be shy when there are more boisterous species around. What with visits to feeders only in winter anyway, and the fact that not even many birdwatchers can identify one may partly explain how a book can carry incorrect information. I have had no Willow Tit sightings since my one and only sighting of 2006 - a persistently singing single bird at a new site in my Isfield area (but as with Nigel - please don't ask). The pair near Uckfield was present but probably did NOT breed in 2005 (printing error in Sussex Bird Report), and was last seen in the summer of 2005. |
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