Firstly, there are still a few places left with some willow tits, especially in south Northants, and it has been great to hear them singing in several different places.
I have also learnt a lot about the calls and songs of willow tits and marsh tits and have a much better understanding of their ecology (having had time to read quite a few papers). For willow tits, top notch habitat is normally damp, scrubby woodland, often close to water. They need dynamic management to keep recreating this habitat. But they also need these wet and scrubby areas protected from clearance and drainage. Marsh tits are much more at home in mature woodland with a well-developed canopy, and not so bothered about it being damp.
There is a lot we can do to conserve and improve their habitat, but this will require action (and sometimes inaction!) from key landowners.
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| occupied willow tit habitat near Moreton Pinkney |
While I've been out and about, spring has been in the air a little bit more: willow catkins about to burst forth, lambs in the fields, a first red admiral on the wing (yesterday as temperature soared to 14 degrees C), even one or two lapwings returning to farmland sites.
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| willow catkins |
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| lambs enjoying themselves |
Sometimes change in the countryside can be sad to see - this fine old oak tree, possibly the oldest in Warwickshire, caught some sort of fungus infection and had to be felled. It was pretty much doomed anyway, sitting bang on the route of HS2.
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| huge old oak tree felled late last year |
Change is also very much in the air at Farnborough National Trust property, with major tree clearance taking place to restore the original parkland vistas. It does look quite drastic at the moment but there are plans to create more wildlife habitat as part of the project so lets hope there will be a net gain for biodiversity long-term to balance all the loss of dead wood and scrub.
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| Farnborough National Trust "makeover" |
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| woodland clearance at Farnborough |
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