willow tit project

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Drawing from our Willow Tit nest box trial conducted in Poland, where a unique nest box scheme was designed and implemented to provide suitable nest sites for the Willow Tit, and carried out with the aim to develop the most effective nest box design to suit these specialist birds, we are currently establishing a network of sites around Wales where the successful specialist nest box design is being rolled out for this fastest declining resident bird species in the UK.

Willow Tits excavate a nest chamber in soft deadwood, usually in the stump of a Willow, Birch, Alder or Elder. These birds generally breed in wet woodland and scrub, where there is an abundance of suitable habitat. Unfortunately, in many areas, with climate change, the degradation of the natural environment, clearance of scrub and mismanagement of woodlands, natural nesting opportunities are diminishing fast. This is by no means the only challenge these wonderful and charismatic birds are facing (eg. eviction by other tit species, predation by Great Spotted Woodpeckers), and the specially designed nest box aims at addressing as many of these as possible.

The aim of the programme is to stabilise and further increase existing populations in the county of Carmarthenshire, to start with. According to 'Great Britian willow tit survey 2019-2021: A Welsh perspective', the county holds the highest proportion of the Welsh population - just over 30%.

Following our Pilot Project in 2025, we are currently extending the scope of our unique conservation work for Willow Tits moving forward into the new breeding season (2026). The project will involve:

• Surveying suitable habitat for Willow Tit territories that have so far remained unrecorded
• Nest box installation in confirmed territories
• Monitoring of known Willow Tit territories
• Natural nest location
• Protecting natural nests from predation
• Studying Willow Tits in their natural habitat
• Protecting existing habitat
• Creating new areas of suitable habitat

We are working in cooperation with councils and NGOs to support Willow Tits occupying country parks, nature reserves, etc. and are predominantly funded by government grants and charities but due to the increasing number of private sites confirmed to be holding previously unrecorded Willow Tit territories, we are looking for further funding, which would allow us to include them in our growing project.

If you are an individual wishing to support our efforts or a company interested in contributing to the protection of biodiversity in Wales, please contact us or support us directly by sponsoring a Willow Tit nest box via the link below.

Every nest box sponsored on our site comes with a comprehensive Willow Tit conservation services package that helps secure known populations and allows us to continue our work mapping, monitoring and protecting local Willow Tits.