Teepees for tits bring bearded beauties to reedbed
• Handmade reed wigwams have attracted Bearded Tits to nest at nature reserve for the first time.
• Numbers of these rare birds plummeted in the UK during the harsh winter of 2010 but they’re recovering as new reedbeds are created .
• Staff and volunteers also provide trays of grit which the birds eat to help them digest seeds.
Distinctively designed Wild West ‘wigwam’ birdhouses have helped a rare bird nest in a landscape that couldn’t be more different to the Plains of North America.
In the reedbeds of RSPB Old Moor nature reserve, in South Yorkshire, Bearded Tits, attractive small birds with a “pinging” call, have chosen to settle thanks to the hard work of the nature reserve’s staff and volunteers.
Here, plenty of reedbed with the addition of the special nestboxes and trays of grit, has given the birds the perfect place to call home.
Bearded Tits are mainly found in the reedbeds of Eastern and Southern England, and also breed in West Yorkshire, Lancashire and on the Humber. Although they have spent the winter at Old Moor before, this is the first time they have nested, causing much excitement. This gives the nature reserve, near Barnsley, the first ever record of this distinctive bird breeding in South Yorkshire.
The reserve team has created ideal nesting conditions for the birds by placing grit trays and specially designed ‘wigwam’ nestboxes around the reedbeds. Bearded Tits swallow grit to help them grind up reed seeds as they digest them.
There have been confirmed sightings of two young Bearded Tits near the reedbed paths, and the staff are encouraging visitors to come along to hopefully catch sight of these enchanting little birds.
Senior Site Manager Matthew Capper said: “This is an amazing development for the reserve and for the area. Historically, Bearded Tits have declined due to a loss of the reed beds they live in, and they are also very susceptible to cold winters and wet summers which can affect their survival. Our staff and volunteers have worked hard to ensure the reed beds here at Old Moor are the perfect home for Bearded Tits. We hope that this is the start of a long history of these birds breeding in the Dearne Valley.”
Bearded Tits are perhaps one of our most inappropriately named birds. The markings on the males resemble moustaches rather than beards. Nor are they related to the Blue Tits and Great Tits visiting our gardens: they actually belong to a separate family of birds! These birds are very sensitive to cold winters and in the winter of 2010 their populations almost halved across the country, but they are now recovering.
It has been a good breeding season overall for Old Moor with another rare reedbed specialist - the Bittern also producing two nests with chicks. Bee orchids continue to thrive and iconic Avocets – the emblem of the RSPB, have also fledged young.
RSPB
27 June 2017
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