What they like

Close coniferous woodland with spruce and pine. Preferably with a scruffy undergrowth and shelter. In parks and gardens: plant a few conifers or a Scots pine, or just leave that old spruce standing. Hang nest boxes high and sheltered, with a small entrance hole, and let ivy or dense shrubs do their thing. In agricultural areas: keep farmyards green with shelterbelts of spruce, pine and a shrub layer; no neatly trimmed “tidy” borders.

Ecological importance

Tiny hunter with turbo. Picks off springtails, spiders, lice and caterpillars from needles and branches. It’s itself on the menu of sparrowhawk and cats: so give it dense cover, not bare borders.

When in the Netherlands

All year. In autumn and winter many more due to migration and winter visitors; then they suddenly turn up in gardens with conifers.

Status

Common, but sensitive to the loss of dense coniferous woodland. More structure and more greenery on farmyards and in villages helps immediately.