A new initiative by the Scottish Ornithologists' Club (SOC) to protect and conserve one of Scotland’s rarest birds - the Marsh Tit - has taken flight, and with it, hopes of boosting the species’ recovery in the country.
Marsh Tit – a small woodland bird with brown upperparts, a pale belly and a black cap and bib - is now only found in one known area of Scotland and is considered one of the country’s rarest breeding birds at just three (known) pairs. The species has been Red-listed in the UK since 2002 having suffered an 80% decline in its breeding population between 1967 and 2022. This has been attributed to reduced habitat quality of the woodlands the species depends on, and particularly, the loss of understory vegetation.
In Scotland, Marsh Tit have been historically confined to Lothian and Borders region. In the 1980s, the Scottish population was estimated at 80 – 100 pairs however this figure had halved by 2004 and by 2013, surveys of the region put the country’s entire breeding population at just 3 – 10 pairs.
Marsh Tit was feared/presumed to have gone extinct in Scotland by 2020, but the recent discovery of a small population of the birds in southern Scotland offers a rare and exciting opportunity to protect the species.
The Scottish Marsh Tit Project, run by a group of SOC members, hopes to reverse the bird’s decline in Scotland by working with relevant nature organisations and bodies to create a conservation strategy for the species.
“Thought to be extinct as breeders in Scotland, Marsh Tit were rediscovered with a new unknown population deep in the Borders in 2023 after an absence of 6 years of records in the county. This discovery provides us with a rare second chance to protect and conserve this species which has dwindled to extinction in other areas of Scotland, and gives us hope there is still some good news out there in the natural world”, Alasdair Reid, Scottish Marsh Tit Project Organiser.
In grasping the opportunity to maintain Marsh Tit as a breeding species in Scotland, the Scottish Marsh Tit Project are appealing for volunteers to help across a wide range of roles. Anyone with an interest in the birds, and/or project, is warmly welcomed to join an Online Information Evening about Marsh Tits on Wednesday 2 July, from 7.30pm – 8.30pm. To receive the Zoom joining link, email birdingofficer@the-soc.org.uk.
For more information about the Project, please contact Alasdair Reid, Scottish Marsh Tit Project Organiser at alasdairreid@hotmail.co.uk
Marsh Tit images © Peter Stronach
