Confirmed Decline of Willow Tits in Cornwall: Evidence & Action to Prevent Extinction

Working with local communities to secure a future for willow tit populations.

Cornwall’s unique natural landscape is home to some of the last remaining populations of willow tits in southern England. We previously introduced the case study, exploring the likely extinction of this species—Britain’s fastest-declining resident bird—and outlined a plan to assess their status in Cornwall while working with local communities to secure their future.

Above: Willow tit Poecile montanus. Image credit: Francis C. Franklin / CC-BY-SA-3.0. Creative Commons License

Thanks to an enormous survey effort by our project team and dedicated volunteers, we now have a clearer picture of the species’ perilous state in mid-Cornwall.

Alarmingly, the River Camel population has been lost, and many former habitat pockets are now devoid of willow tits. They now occupy less than half the area they did 20 years ago. Their last strongholds in mid-Cornwall are the SSSIs of Goss Moor and Helman Tor. With so few breeding pairs remaining, predictive modelling indicates that a population crash—leading to extinction—is imminent.

However, this same modelling offers crucial insights into how we might reverse the decline. By combining high-quality data on willow tit presence with detailed habitat mapping derived from satellite and aerial remote sensing, we have identified specific parcels of land that, with targeted management changes, could become critical habitat. These areas provide new refuges for the species or create essential corridors linking existing habitat pockets.

This modelling is just the first step. It is a foundation for discussions with land managers who know their land and can implement the changes needed to support the species’ recovery. Using participatory mapping techniques, we are refining our models based on local knowledge to ensure suggested action is both practical and ecologically sound.

We’ve already seen success through our collaboration with Natural England on Goss Moor, where changes in land management are improving the habitat for willow tit and other key species, such as the Marsh Fritillary butterfly.

Above: Map showing historic Willow tit distribution in 2000 (red outline) and current distribution found by the Taskforce in 2024 (green outline) in mid-Cornwall, with Goss Moor and Helman Tor (labelled). . Image credit: Francis C. Franklin / CC-BY-SA-3.0. Creative Commons License

You can hear more about this in our recent radio feature (Below). Additionally, we are working closely with Cornwall Wildlife Trust on their Helman Tor complex, ensuring that these key sites can serve as source populations for birds that can disperse across the wider landscape.

Below: Kirk England reports on a project to save a native bird and James Churchfield finds out more from Daveron Smith who is working on the scheme. Image: Kevin Bowers

Above: Willow Tit nest site, in an area recently enhanced through habitat works on Goss Moor. Photograph by Ian Moye