Are you interested in
birds? Can you tell a Blackbird from a Song Thrush, a Meadow Pipit from a
Skylark, a Stonechat from a Whinchat? Would you like to contribute to a
national survey on
The aim
A Bird Atlas is being
organized by the British Trust for Ornithology. It aims to produce maps of distribution and
relative abundance for all bird species breeding and wintering in
The survey work will span
four winters and four breeding seasons, starting on 1 November 2007, during
which the whole of
Two methods of recording
are being used.
1. Roving Records – whatever you see, whenever, wherever!
For distribution maps to
be comprehensive, complete species lists are needed for every 10-km square in
2. Timed Tetrad Visits –
concentrating on an area
In winter the tetrad is surveyed for two 1 hour timed visits at a date and time of your choice, one early in the winter and one late.
In the breeding season the tetrad is surveyed for two 1 hour visits, at a date and time of your choice, one early in the breeding season and one late, noting signs of breeding.
The idea is to walk around the main
habitats in the tetrad and record and count all the species. Different routes can be used on the two visits
so that all habitats are covered. This
will give information that will lead to the production of maps of distribution and relative
abundance for all bird species breeding and wintering in
If you
would like more information, check out the website www.birdatlas.net.
If you would like to get involved, contact me.