A full version of this article appears in the magazine.

 

This summer, on hearing that bearded tits Panurus biarmicus had bred on the Newport Wetlands reserve, the editor asked if I could write a short piece on their arrival. His thoughts were that, since we had obviously got the conditions right for them, would I say how we managed to get the first pair of breeding bearded tits in Wales for 25 years.

 

I would love to be able to say that it was all planned and that they have simply done exactly what we expected. But honesty decrees that we can take little credit for their arrival. Certainly we created a 40-hectare (100 acre) reedbed, which is obviously a start, but the reedbed was designed for bitterns, not bearded tits. Bitterns need 'wet' reedbeds, with lots of water under the reed in which they can find food. Bearded tits, on the other hand, are supposed to prefer “dry” reedbeds with a deep, dry leaf litter below the reeds.

 

Our reedbeds are for bitterns. They have shallow shelves with about 30 cm of water on which the reed grows. Bitterns skulk through the reedy shallows, preying on unwary frogs and fish as they go. An occasional strip of deep water, where reed won’t grow, means that there are always lengths of water and reed 'edge', the bittern’s favoured hunting haunt. To increase this 'edge' we cut areas reed in winter to create open pools. We keep the reed shelves flooded all year round to ensure the bitterns always have easy access to their food. We even have 'ladders' on the sluices up which elvers can climb into the reedbeds where they will mature into bittern food! In fact we have all that bitterns need - except bitterns! Perhaps not quite true, as up to 3 bitterns have been on the reserve, for each of the past four winters. But apart from an odd, half-hearted boom in spring 2003, there has been no sign of their breeding.

 

Then, out of the blue in winter 2004, bearded tits started to be seen; only one or two and always very fleetingly. Such winter occurrences are not that unusual, though it was the first time for the Wetlands. Bearded tits occasionally 'erupt' from their breeding grounds and disperse quite widely. A few small passerine species do this; a natural way of discouraging over-crowding and of encouraging the establishment of new sites. Despite the fact that there were odd sightings into March, it entered no one’s head that they might stay to breed. When there was a sighting of a pair in spring, possibly carrying nesting material, no one really considered it more than a pre-breeding season display, to be followed by their imminent departure. A complete absence of records for many weeks afterwards seemed to confirm this suggestion. Then suddenly, in June a report came in that someone had seen a family party of 'beardies'. After that keen birders spent hours trying to add a Welsh beardie to their list. Eventually suspicions were aroused that there might have been two family parties, and though this was never absolutely confirmed, judging by the numbers seen and distribution of the sightings it seems likely.

 

So, despite our detailed plans we have so far failed to attract the species for which we designed the reedbeds and we have attracted the species that no one really considered. Actually I must admit that we did one teeny bit of management for beardies. Kevin, the Reserve Manager, decided to put a reed 'wigwam' into one of the reedbeds in 2003. Wigwams are nest boxes designed for bearded tits. He stuck it on a broom stick in Reedbed 9, very much more in hope than expectation. Where did the bearded tits breed? Reedbed 9. Did they use Kevin’s wigwam? ………We don’t know, he can’t find it again!

 

Tony Pickup is Senior Site Manager of the Newport Wetlands Reserve, and has been a warden for over thirty years.