Willow Tits are often seen and heard at Risley Moss, despite suffering an enormous population decline in the last 50 years. 

Numbers of willow tits have fallen 74% across the country since 1970, which has led to their inclusion on the red conservation list. 

Loss of habitat

The main reason for the decline in numbers is the loss of their favourite habitat. They need to hollow out their nest holes in decaying timber, which they do with their tiny beaks. 

To do this, they need scrub or young woodland and particularly like a habitat found at Risley Moss called wet woodland. This type of woodland is precisely the type found on the edge of peat bogs. Wet woodland is made up of smaller trees, primarily birch and willows, which can tolerate a certain amount of water. These trees often fall over and start to rot if the ground gets too wet. But this provides a perfect nesting area for willow tits. 

Shy and retiring

They're quite shy little birds, and like the woodland to be quite dense and messy, so they can hide away from predators like great-spotted woodpeckers or squirrels. Even blue tits and great tits will bully them and chase them out of their newly excavated holes so that they can nest there instead!

In some areas of England, willow tits have almost disappeared completely. The biggest reason for this is the natural inclination for humans to tidy up woodland that looks slightly messy. Willow tits won't use nest boxes and don't like a mature forest as they can't drill nesting holes in trees which are very hard.