Tits, Nuthatch and Treecreeper

Bearded Tit Panurus biarmicus

Also known as the Bearded Reedling, the Bearded Tit is not a member of tit family at all but is actually a species of babbler. Babblers are a large group with many species in Africa and Asia. Very rare in Britain during the first half of the 20^th Century, Bearded Tits began expanding their range during the 1960s as birds colonised new areas of the country from the huge population in the Dutch polders. It was around this time that Blacktoft Sands at the head of the Humber was colonised, eventually becoming the largest colony in the country. It is irrupting birds from Blacktoft that are seen in the Hull area now and again. A handful of Bearded Tits are seen among the reeds at Saltend most winters, usually from October to April. Eight were present in January 1978, with a few seen again in January 1984 and at least 24 the following December (when 20 were ringed). Most of the flock remained into 1985 and 17 were counted on 17^th January. Birds were still present during February, with the 16 at nearby King George Dock on 24^th probably being the Saltend birds. The flock decreased to seven in March with the last one on 1^st April.

Numbers were down the following year, with eight at Saltend on 1^st January 1986 falling to just two by February. The last one was seen on 22^nd March. Two were present again from mid October onwards, staying until 17^th March 1987, with one more on 8^th April. Later that year eight were back in the Saltend reeds on 7^th November. None were seen in 1988, but five were sighted in January and February 1989. Four were counted on 14^th October 1990. Breeding occurred at Saltend in 1997, when one pair was seen with a very young juvenile in the reedbeds on 12^th August. The adults were present from April to September. Disappointingly, the following year saw only wintering birds again; two were present in February, one in March and another in November. The reedbeds around Saltend are the only places where Bearded Tits have been seen in the Hull area, albeit irregularly and in varying numbers. Other Phragmites beds along the Humber waterfront and elsewhere may well hold a very occasional party in winter.

Long-tailed Tit Aegithalos caudatus

Continuously on the move in talkative, close-knit family groups, the very cute Long-tailed Tit is a favourite of mine. Although it seems to be thinly distributed as a breeding bird in the Hull area, this species is nevertheless fairly widespread in the region. It is possibly more common now than it has been for many decades.

In 1901 John Nicholson reported that parties of Long-tailed Tits were regular visitors to his Hull garden, near Pearson Park, but only in late summer. Soon afterwards, Nelson (1907) mentioned that it seemed to be decreasing in the East Riding. In 1952, meanwhile, Chislett described it as "nowhere very numerous, but nowhere scarce" in the county. Boylan (1967) considered the Long-tailed Tit to be a rare bird in 1960s Hull, mentioning just five records of occasional winter parties. The supposed scarcity in the city might seem a little exaggerated now but it appears that the species really was a bit thin on the ground around Hull back then. There were only a few sightings around Kirk Ella in the mid 1970s, for example, mainly in winter, but with 12 in October 1982. Bonavia (1990) also considered Long-tailed Tits to be largely autumn and winter visitors around Cottingham in the first half the 1980s. Regular observation at North Bransholme from 1989 to 1994 revealed parties of up to 15 Long-tailed Tits between midsummer and winter. The presence of odd pairs in spring and family groups in July suggested that breeding was occurring somewhere close by, probably along Old Main Drain. Indeed, the New Atlas (Gibbons et al., 1993) indicated breeding throughout the Hull area at the beginning of the 1990s.

Counts at the Bransholme Sewage Works plantation in the early 1990s usually revealed five birds or less, again mainly in autumn, but that decade has witnessed a steady increase in recorded numbers of Long-tailed Tits. There is now also a greater tendency to penetrate further into the city than before. An irregular visitor to Hedon Road Cemetery in the 1970s, by the 1990s Long-tailed Tits were resident all year round and up to 20 could be found in the general area. Small parties were reported along the old railway line in 1996. Several pairs nested around the north end of Priory Road the same year. A site record of 20 were at the Bransholme Sewage Works in September 1998 and 24 were in East Park that November. I saw another party of half a dozen birds in East Park in December 2000. Recent breeding has also been suspected around Pearson Park but, as yet, there are no records from the city centre. I only once had Long-tailed Tits in my North Bransholme garden during the 1990s but they are increasingly coming to bird tables all over Britain. Peanuts, fat balls or suet blocks could well attract them to yours if there are flocks close by.

Willow Tit Parus montanus

Chislett (1952) mentioned recent breeding at Wawne and Haltemprice in the late 1940s and the species was regarded as not uncommon on Humberside around that time. Boylan's 1967 Birds in Hull makes no mention of the Willow Tit during the first half of the 1960s, although Marsh Tit was included. Despite this, a pair of Willow Tits were seen on Dunswell Road, Cottingham, in July 1967. There were several more sightings around Kirk Ella in the mid 1970s, with pairs seen in Kerry Woods during the breeding season into the early 1980s. A pair reared eight young at Saltend in 1986 and up to three adults were seen on many dates, all year round, since at least 1984. One or two birds were often seen along the Old Main Drain at North Bransholme between the mid 1980s and mid 1990s, mostly between September and March. A pair was also seen here in June 1993 and breeding was suspected somewhere close by, possibly Woody Carr near Wawne. Two pairs were seen at Priory Road fields in autumn 1995 and they remained to breed in the Raised Bank and Priory Wood areas in 1996. This is the only recent breeding record anywhere in the Hull area. Sightings in Kirk Ella's Kerry Woods during March in 1995 and 1998 raises hopes that more Willow Tits may be breeding elsewhere. The sight of a single bird along North Bransholme's Old Main Drain on New Year's Day 2001, meanwhile, after several years of absence, showed that the species has not totally disappeared from all of its former haunts around Hull.

Coal Tit Parus ater

The Coal Tit is a bird of woodlands, particularly those with a strong coniferous element. It is therefore not very surprising that it is uncommon in the Hull area, especially in the relatively treeless east.

The earliest mention of the Coal Tit in Hull comes from Boylan's (1967) account of the birds found in the city between 1960 and 1966, in which he described this species as an irregular breeding bird in the suburbs. Other sources mention occasional winter sightings in Northern Cemetery in the early 1960s, with resident birds in Newland Park. A pair bred in a cranny in Cottingham's St Mary's Church in 1981 and breeding was noted at the University of Hull's Botanic Gardens in the early to mid 1980s. Birds were also reported to be regular in Cottingham gardens in autumn and winter. Things are quite different in East Hull. The only record for Hedon Road Cemetery is of a lone bird visiting the bird table for a week in February 1986. Three seen at Saltend the following September was the only record there during intensive coverage in the mid 1980s. An adult was feeding a troupe of recently fledged young down Common Lane, Wawne, in early summer 1995. I suspect that this brood was reared in the nearby Paradise Wood, which has some conifers. A pair were in North Bransholme’s Old Main Drain hedgerow in September 2001 and there are also a few sightings from the Ings Road area of East Hull.

Back in West Hull and the western villages, the stronghold of the species in the Hull area, Coal Tits were occasionally seen in the trees down Cottingham Road in the mid 1990s. There were three records from conifers in Hull's Avenues in 1996 and they are often seen in gardens in this part of the city. Breeding is reputed to occur, albeit uncommonly, in old trees in West Hull and they are regular in the Humber Bridge Country Park.

The status of the Coal Tit in the Hull area is probably best summarised by dealing by with both sides of the River Hull individually. In East Hull the species is a scarce breeding bird and occasional wanderer. In West Hull it nests more commonly, though still rather sparingly, but is a more widespread resident.

Blue Tit Parus caeruleus

Anyone who has ever put a birdfeeder up in their garden will be familiar with the acrobatic and perky little Blue Tit. They are very common birds in the Hull area and can be found in any area of woodland, scrub, hedgerow, leafy gardens and avenues or even reedbeds. They even nest in the city centre. Nicholson reported that the Blue Tit was a frequent visitor to his Hull garden in 1901; a flock of eight was present as he wrote his account. Boylan (1967) said that the Blue Tit was a common breeding bird in 1960s Hull and they could often be seen in Queen's Gardens. There were also five pairs in Northern Cemetery alone at this time. Bonavia (1990) considered them to be abundant breeders in gardens and woodland around Cottingham in the first half of the 1980s. I also found them to be common at North Bransholme in the early 1990s, with around 10 pairs along the length of the Old Main Drain and in the nearby copses. There were a further two pairs at the Bransholme Sewage Works. Michael Flowers reports that the Blue Tit is very common and nests annually in Hedon Road Cemetery. Crowther's 1996 survey of Hull's Avenues found them to be common there, too, with Milsom coming to the same conclusion at the Priory Road fields the same year. In June 2001 I came across a recently fledged family party of Blue Tits in trees near the Old English Gentleman pub in central Hull. It is, therefore, probably fair to say that the Blue Tit is common everywhere in the Hull area and has always been so. While most nests are probably located in tree holes, Blue Tits will readily take to a nest box with the right dimensions. Such boxes certainly help them in the suburbs where mature trees are often scarce. Other artificial sites are also used in the absence of anything better, and four pairs were nesting in city gas light standards in 1941.

In 1989 I located five active nests in a half square mile area on the eastern fringe of North Bransholme. One was in a dead sycamore tree, two were in live ash and silver birch trees, with a further two in nest boxes. I decided to keep a close eye on these nests to see how they fared and found that two of them lost a parent bird (one to a Sparrowhawk and the other found dead due to unknown causes). What was notable was the fact that all of the chicks from all of the nests fledged within just a few days of each other, between 6^th and 9^th June. Blue Tits synchronise their breeding like this to coincide with the hatching of the caterpillars, and they only have one chance to breed each year. With many Blue Tits not living to see a second year it is crucial for them to rear as many young as possible, hence the large broods that offset the heavy predation.

After the chicks leave the nest the family parties can be found roaming the trees and hedgerows from mid June onwards. They often join up with other families of Blue, Great and Long-tailed Tits, Willow Warblers etc. and gatherings of over a dozen Blue Tits may be found in late summer and autumn. Not all of the autumn and winter Blue Tits visiting our gardens and hedgerows are local birds, however. A first winter bird caught at Hull on 27^th October 1976 was ringed at Spurn Point, over 20 miles away, just two weeks before. Another ringed at Spurn on 7^th October 1977 was found dying at Hull 18 months later, on 7^th March 1979. These birds may have come from overseas.

Great Tit Parus major

The Great Tit is less numerous in the Hull area than the Blue Tit but it is still common bird and occurs in similar bushy and wooded habitats. As with the Blue Tit, natural tree-hole nesting sites are at a premium in many parts of Hull and a well made, well positioned nestbox will readily be used by local Great Tits. Great Tits are also familiar visitors to most bird tables around Hull, being particularly fond of sunflower seeds, peanuts and 'bird cakes' (seed and nuts set in fat). John Nicholson had a pair of Great Tits visiting his Hull garden, near Pearson Park, in the autumn of 1901. This contrasted with parties of up to eight Blue Tits. Another early Hull record concerns a little gang of Great Tits going to roost in the glass bowl of gas street light in 1943. A Great Tit caught at Cottingham in April 1952, meanwhile, had been ringed at Sedbergh (95 miles to the northwest) just four weeks earlier. Boylan (1967) regarded the species as a regular breeder in the parks, cemeteries and gardens of 1960s Hull. Bonavia (1990) listed it as an abundant breeder around Cottingham but, once again, it was noted to be less numerous than the Blue Tit. The peak count at Saltend in 1984 was just four birds, this being compared to 14 for the Blue Tit. I also found Great Tits to be much scarcer than Blue Tits at North Bransholme throughout the 1990s, although two or three pairs bred along Old Main Drain. The largest numbers at North Bransholme were encountered in June, when the young had just fledged and family parties were roaming the copses and hedgerows. One or two birds visited my garden bird table most days during winter.

Great Tits are reported to be very common down Hedon Road, regularly nesting in telegraph poles between the cemetery and Brigham's factory. A decline was noted in Hull's Avenues in the mid 1990s, however, and they are now infrequent there. Great Tits were still found to be common around Priory Road in 1996, again less so than the Blue Tit, but there were maximum counts of eight birds and breeding was noted in Priory Wood, Wood Lane and the Pickhills. There are, in fact, few districts of the Hull area that do not resonate to the ringing song of the Great Tit in spring. Breeding birds are fairly common and widespread in all but the most built up and barren areas. Most gardens and stands of trees and bushes will receive a visit from roaming birds in autumn and winter.

Nuthatch (Wood Nuthatch) Sitta europaea

Despite being a resident and moderately common breeding bird in much of Britain, including North and West Yorkshire, the Nuthatch is an extremely rare bird in the East Riding. Nuthatches are highly sedentary and very reluctant to move more than a few miles from their territory, especially if this involves crossing open ground. They are therefore unable to easily reach the scattered fragments of woodland in the Hull area. Indeed, the furthest recorded distance ever travelled by a British Nuthatch is just under 20 miles, and there are precious few Nuthatches within that sort of distance from Hull and the surrounding villages. Little wonder then that there are just two reported instances of a Nuthatch in the region covered by this book. On 17^th May 1977 Brian Fendley saw a Nuthatch in the Kerry Woods, just west of Kirk Ella. Sixteen years later, in early 1993, Graham Uney saw one climbing down a chestnut tree at Holderness House, on the corner of Laburnum Avenue and Holderness Road in Hull. A fortnight later Uney apparently saw the same bird again at Holderness House, this time at the top of an ash tree right outside the entrance to the grounds. Where these birds came from is a mystery. Were they from an undiscovered population in the Wolds woodlands or were they maverick wanderers from further afield?

Treecreeper (Eurasian Treecreeper) Certhia familiaris

The Treecreeper is an unobtrusive bird and this makes its status in the Hull area a little hard to judge. It seems to be rare or scarce in many parts and regular in a few others. The general scarcity of the Treecreeper around Hull is likely to have a lot to do with the patchy distribution of mature trees and woodland, as the species is strongly tied to this kind of habitat. All of the three Yorkshire avifaunas of the last century (Nelson in 1907, Chislett in 1952 and Mather in 1986) had little to say about the Treecreeper in the East Riding and nothing of it in the Hull area. All of them, however, acknowledged that it could be found in most mature woods throughout Yorkshire. The earliest mention of the species around Hull comes from 1943 when unusually high numbers were seen around Cottingham, Anlaby and Hessle. This was attributed to the felling of extensive woods nearby, forcing the birds out and into new areas.

The Treecreeper was a very rare winter visitor to 1960s Hull, according to Boylan (1967), with just three records. A pair were seen in Cottingham in March 1969 and Brian Fendley found a nest in Kerry Woods, Kirk Ella, in 1976. Birds have been regular there up to the present day. Bonavia (1990) mentioned that Treecreepers were present in woods around Cottingham in the 1980s, occasionally coming to the village gardens. One was seen in a South Street garden in April 1984, April 1991 and November 1993.

Treecreepers were not recorded at Saltend during the intensive coverage of the mid 1980s. A single bird at Hedon Road Cemetery in July 1981 was only the second record there. I saw a pair along North Bransholme's Old Main Drain hedgerow in autumn 1988 and one was calling from woods at Woody Carr, near Wawne, in April 1989, but they were my only records of the species in that area. I suspect that breeding may be occurring at Woody Carr, this being excellent habitat for them, although access restrictions make this difficult to prove. Gibbons et al. (1993), meanwhile, recorded breeding in all 10 km squares covering the Hull area between 1988 and 1991.

Helen Crowther's 1996 survey of the wildlife in Hull's Avenues revealed the Treecreeper to be a scarce but long term resident among the more mature trees. A pair was present in the Humber Bridge Country Park the following year, with breeding considered to be regular here. A lone bird was in East Park in the autumn of 1998 and breeding was suspected here, too. Indeed, breeding has been occurring at nearby Holderness House, on the corner of Holderness Road and Laburnum Avenue for many years.

Roaming winter birds offer the best chance of seeing a Treecreeper in East Hull. West Hull and the villages are clearly a better bet for breeding birds, but the species does not appear to be common anywhere.