{"id":2235854,"date":"2026-11-03T05:59:00","date_gmt":"2026-11-03T02:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2235854"},"modified":"2026-11-03T05:59:00","modified_gmt":"2026-11-03T02:59:00","slug":"how-staffordshire-reservoir-is-helping-to-save-the-willow-tit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2235854","title":{"rendered":"How Staffordshire reservoir is helping to save the willow tit"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1024\/branded_news\/36de\/live\/b138b120-d6c5-11f1-ac20-7783925c811f.jpg”]<\/p>\n

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\"GettyGetty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The willow tit is the UK’s fastest declining resident bird<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Once a thriving and common feature of our woodlands, the willow tit is now the UK’s fastest declining resident bird.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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According to Severn Trent Water, numbers have fallen by about 96% from 1967 to 2023, with only around 3,400 breeding pairs left across the whole country.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Approximately 10 of those are believed to nest in the grounds of Tittesworth Reservoir, near Leek in Staffordshire.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The site, run by Severn Trent Water, has been trying to improve the outlook for the species as part of its wider initiative to boost the area’s biodiversity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Julian Woolford, chief executive of Staffordshire Wildlife Trust, told BBC Midlands Today: “To have proper management plans in place at Tittesworth for the willow tit is fantastic.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The decline of the bird’s population has been put down mainly to urbanisation and the loss of wet woodlands.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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It has vanished from most of southern England, but pockets remain in the central part of the country, as well as in Wales and Scotland, according to Severn Trent.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Julian Woolford, chief executive of Staffordshire Wildlife Trust, said the reservoir’s work was “fantastic”<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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As part of the biodiversity work, staff at the reservoir have been improving the wet woodland habitat.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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They have create more dead wood, in which willow tits like to nest, and specially-designed nesting boxes have also been installed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Graham Osborn, biodiversity and ecology lead at Severn Trent, said: “We inherit this land from future generations so it’s really important we give it back in a better condition.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“To know the work we’re putting in now is going to improve the habitat for them, and future generations of willow tit, is a fantastic achievement. For us to be able to put a stamp on that and to really drive this forward.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"A<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Graham Osborn, biodiversity and ecology lead at Severn Trent, said it was important to protect nature for future generations<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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For its work to improve habitats in the area, Tittesworth was awarded The Wildlife Trust’s biodiversity benchmark accreditation in July.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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As a result, the 145-hectare (358-acre) reservoir site became the largest of its kind in the UK to receive the recognition.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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As well as the rare willow tits, Osborn said the site was also home to many mammals, such as bats, badgers, hedgehogs and polecats.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on <\/i>BBC Sounds<\/i>, <\/i>Facebook<\/i>, <\/i>X<\/i> and <\/i>Instagram<\/i>. <\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

[analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/cvx285w1l6rno”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1024\/branded_news\/36de\/live\/b138b120-d6c5-11f1-ac20-7783925c811f.jpg”] Getty Images The willow tit is the UK’s fastest declining resident bird Once a thriving and common feature of our woodlands, the willow tit is now the UK’s fastest declining resident bird. According to Severn Trent Water, numbers have fallen by about 96% from 1967 to 2023, with only around 3,400 breeding […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[35,226],"class_list":["post-2235854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-bbc-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2235854","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2235854"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2235854\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2235854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2235854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2235854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}