Long-tailed tit by Roy McDonald
November, the woodland workers meet for their biweekly fix of nature, physical challenge, and companionship.
Having briefed the eager troop on the project for the day, I watch them march off into the woods armed with loppers, saws, and cake. A flock of long-tailed tits dart across the woodland ride behind them, with high-pitched calls resounding through the wood.
Long-tailed tits. Photo by Roy McDonald
Aegithalos caudatus is an exquisite bird: tiny, with a long black and white tail, a round body, and a pinkish breast. Easy to spot, these enchanting creatures stick together in groups of about 20, huddling together at night for warmth. Never still or quiet, they flit from tree to tree feeding on insects and invertebrates, often hanging upside down to feed.
Long-tailed tits can be seen across the UK throughout the year, in woodlands, hedgerows, and also in gardens, where they will visit bird feeders when food is scarce.
Nests are constructed of moss, lichen, and spider silk which allows them to expand as the chicks grow. This incredible construction is lined with 1,500 feathers or more, where 8-12 eggs can be cocooned. Aegithalos caudatus remain social throughout the nesting season, helping others to rear their young.
I catch up with my own flock, which is equally exquisite and enchanting. I find the volunteers huddled together in a ditch, cutting and clearing willow that has migrated into the water. Alongside them is Estelle Bailey, BBOWT’s chief executive, who has joined us for a day of ditch-dwelling.
This area was cleared several years ago by this league of labourers to make way for sunlight, flora, and thus butterflies and other invertebrates. Fast growing, the coppiced willow trees are soon shooting upwards and outwards, their many stems increasing in girth rapidly.
In another seven or eight years, we shall be back here, clearing the ditch again. Nature is resilient and I find this grounding. No matter what is going on in the world, or in our personal lives, these trees will continue to grow and thrive as they are repeatedly coppiced.
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