It's the perfect time to start surveying one of the UK’s rarest birds—the willow tit. Thanks to the enthusiasm of our citizen scientists, our willow tit training workshops received an incredible response, with over a hundred volunteers applying to take part. Many of last year’s surveyors were eager to return, and we were thrilled to welcome new volunteers ready to take on the challenge.

Over the past month, we successfully ran five training workshops in partnership with The Conservation Volunteers , and what a rewarding experience it was. During the workshops, participants explored fascinating willow tit facts, including their unique habit of excavating their own nest holes in decaying wood and their unmistakable call—“chay chay chay”. Of course, no training would be complete without a little quiz, and our volunteers did brilliantly, recognising willow tits among their lookalike cousins—such as the blackcap and even a marsh tit.

But surveying isn’t just about birdwatching, volunteers also learned to assess habitat features, working in teams to record tree density, ground vegetation, and dominant tree species. At the end of the workshops, it was fantastic to see everyone scanning maps and eagerly picking their survey squares (monads). Some volunteers even discovered potential willow tit habitats right on their doorstep. Seeing so many passionate people sign up for a monad was truly inspiring.

Now is the prime surveying season and our volunteers are gearing up to explore their chosen areas and, hopefully, spot a willow tit or two. Even if they don’t, their collected data plays a vital role in shaping conservation strategies. The information gathered not only contributes to national willow tit conservation efforts but also helps our Wet Willow Wildlife Project carry out significant habitat enhancement work to improve conditions for this rare species.

If you missed the chance to take part in willow tit surveying, don’t worry—you can still get involved. We are always looking for habitat management volunteers to help restore and protect willow tit habitats as part of our Wet Willow Wildlife Project.

Find out more about our Wet Willow Wildlife practical conservation days

Meanwhile, our felling team and volunteers have been working hard. They are nearly finished with our winter work programme with only few volunteering sessions left before spring. Felling has taken place in areas to remove tall canopy species that dry and shade out our wet woodlands. Our team have been using a technique called coppice laying which is similar to hedge laying and has been used on wet woodland enhancement work in Wigan. This technique allows vertical and regenerative growth quicker than traditional coppicing methods.

Our dedicated wet willow volunteers have been busy building leaky dams and planting native wet woodland tree and scrub species. We have been using logs produced through felling to create standing deadwood for willow tits to nest in, and habitat piles that will provide food and shelter for a range of species. There is a tendency to tidy up woodland areas especially where trees have been felled or fallen, but we have been leaving logs and brash in situ where safe to do so. This helps slow down and store water in wet woodland areas as well as helping woodland structure by providing a climbing frame for understory vegetation and over time will rot down to provide valuable habitat.  

In Bolton, we have been working closely with community and conservation groups. In February we ran a session alongside Bolton Conservation Volunteers to carry out wet woodland habitat works at Doffcocker Lodge. Despite the weather everyone was keen to get stuck in and learn more about willow tit habitat requirements, conservation and interventions.

A huge thank you to everyone who has signed up and participated so far. Please also keep an eye on our Wet Willow Wildlife webpage for upcoming events — we’d love to have you involved!