BIRDS ON THE BRINK
Each issue, the team behind Bird Photographer of the Year (BPOTY) looks at conservation issues surrounding different species from the UK and beyond, using beautiful images to inspire. This month it focuses on the Marsh Tit – a barometer for the state of the UK’s woodland
Woodlands and forests are much in the news these days, invariably in the context of Man’s impact on the environment. Occasionally the story is positive – tree planting by the Woodland Trust for example. But more often than not, the context is negative – the Amazon and Australia on fire, or HS2 and the wilful destruction of ancient woodland are all too familiar. Man’s relationship with trees is not a new thing, and if you look back through history, here in the UK, you will find millennia of interaction between people and forests.
Throughout much of the UK’s social history, and until the early 20th Century, woodlands were vital to the rural economy. There was material and financial value in maintaining vibrant, productive woodlands that generated structural timber, firewood and coppice products. And of course, an unintended consequence was that they were teeming with wildlife, particularly birds.
By the 1980s, Britain had lost half the ancient woodland it possessed in 1945, and that was just a tiny fraction of what was present 10,000 years ago. Today, the UK is one of the least-wooded countries in Europe. A meagre 13% of our land area is covered by trees, whereas the European Union as a whole can boast more than 40% forest cover. Focus just on England and the figure is a paltry 10% forest cover – hardly surprising that world leaders don’t take seriously our pleas to save the rain forests.
Nowadays, outside conservation, people mainly own or buy woodland to make money. But woodland management for wildlife and woodland exploitation for profit are not necessarily wholly incompatible – sympathetic woodland practices (such as mixed native species planting rather than monocultures, coppicing, and timing any woodland work correctly) can actually enhance biodiversity. But, currently, it is all too easy to obtain tree felling licences, which are typically granted with scant regard for wildlife.
Despite its name, the Marsh Tit is a bird of mature woodland rather than wetland, and its fate is linked to the quality and extent of suitable habitat. It nests in existing tree holes and, unsurprisingly, mature trees are among its ecological requirements. Sadly, the species has undergone a sharp decrease in numbers and the last half century or so has seen a 75% decline in the population. There are worrying signs that it may be following the fate of its close cousin, the Willow Tit, whose population has declined by more than 90% since 1970.
This species favours subtly different habitats from Marsh Tit, namely damp woodland with standing dead wood in which to excavate nest holes. Unfortunately, few woodland owners permit dead wood to stand, often removing it quickly and replanting.