In previous Bird Notes, Bird Atlas 2007-2011, which is being organized by the British Trust for Ornithology, has been mentioned.  For more information check this link  http://www.bto.org/birdatlas/.  This national bird atlas will allow changes to be assessed in bird distributions since previous breeding national atlases in 1970 and 1990, and since the last winter atlas of the early 1980s.

Since work started on the atlas in November 2007, volunteers on Arran have made timed visits to selected areas called tetrads and have recorded their sightings.  In addition many people have contributed by sharing their bird sightings with me and these have been entered by me as roving records into BirdAtlas.

To my knowledge there has never been a local bird atlas for Arran.  The Arran Natural History Society is giving serious consideration to producing such a document from the national information.  This would contain maps of distribution and relative abundance for all bird species breeding and wintering on Arran.

From the information that BirdAtlas have collated and shared with me for the breeding season in 2008, there is a problem.  It is not with rare or unusual birds but with the records of common birds like Blackbird, Blue Tit, Chaffinch and indeed crows.  The breeding records of common birds are sparse.

Take for example Blackbird and Blue Tit, both familiar to everyone and among our most common birds. Their breeding records on Arran in 2008 are shown on the maps.  The big red dots are confirmed breeding but look at the gaps.  I do not think this is due to a lack of birds but to a lack of records of birds.

With the help of everyone who is interested in birds, this problem of shortage of breeding records for common birds on Arran can be easily solved.  During this breeding season, please keep an eye out for signs of breeding in all our common birds.  This does not require hunting for nests with possible disturbance of the birds which would be criminal, but looking for signs of breeding.  These signs could include a singing male, a pair in suitable habitat, courtship, nest building, adults carrying food, as well as nests and recently fledged young getting fed.

As well as noticing these signs, please then take a moment to note down “what, when, and where” and send these notes to me at Kilpatrick Kennels, Kilpatrick, Blackwaterfoot, KA27 8EY, or e mail me at james.cassels@virgin.net . I look forward to hearing from you. For more information on birding on Arran visit this website www.arranbirding.co.uk.

Thank you in anticipation of your help.