For SEO purposes, option 2 is generally better: using descriptive URLs like "great-tits/1/" instead of just the raw URL.
The second approach offers several SEO advantages:
- Descriptive URLs contain relevant keywords that search engines can use to understand page content
- They appear more user-friendly in search results
- They can improve click-through rates as users see relevant terms in the URL
- Clean, readable URLs are considered a positive ranking factor
- As mentioned in the forum thread, Google will pick up the redirect either way, but having descriptive, keyword-rich URLs in your final destination is beneficial for both search engines and users.
Just ensure you're implementing proper 301 redirects if you're changing URL structures, and maintain consistency in your URL patterns across your site.