The Great White Egret still showing at RSPB Portmore Lough reserve. (David Hughes)
A Sandwich Tern was at the Lagan Lookout, Belfast (Aaron Devlin)
A Chiffchaff was singing at Carrickfergus (Shirley Dunloy)
A Chough was seen at Rathlin Harbour today (Douglas Cecil)
Our thanks to Brian Redpath for his photo of a male Sparrowhawk.
BTO BBS.....
The BTO-led Breeding Bird Survey is a key project for monitoring breeding bird numbers in Northern Ireland. Over the past 25 years it has revealed extraordinary trends in the populations of our common bird species, including increases of 1,540% in Blackcap, 1,305% in Buzzard and 485% in Goldfinch. The latest BBS Report can be found at the following link, with NI results on pages 22-23: https://www.bto.org/our-science/publications/breeding-bird-survey-report/breeding-bird-survey-2019 We need many more BBS volunteers in Northern Ireland if we are to determine trends for our less common breeding bird species, some of which are declining. That's where you come in! What is involved? BBS requires a limited time commitment of only two to three visits to a designated 1km survey square between April and June each year. What skill level is required? For BBS you should be able to identify most common bird species by song and call. Other than that the methodology is straightforward. How to participate? Simply contact the BTO NI Officer at stephen.hewitt@bto.org and let him know the general area you might be interested in surveying. BBS is fun! It allows you to visit parts of the countryside you might not otherwise see, monitor the bird populations of your chosen square over the years, and enjoy listening to bird songs and calls, whilst knowing that you are contributing important data. What about accessing private land? Not all BBS squares require access to private land. Some squares can be covered along minor roads or public access tracks. It may be possible for BTO to make minor changes to existing survey routes to make access easier. BTO also has an introductory letter for landowners that you can request from the BTO NI Officer (stephen.hewitt@bto.org). Training Course BTO NI plans to run an online BBS training course on Sat 27th Mar, you can book onto this for FREE at the following link: Sat 27th March - 10:00-12:00 - https://www.bto.org/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=933 Lockdown Restrictions BTO is hopeful that volunteers will be again able to participate in solitary outdoor surveys in Northern Ireland from early April. --
Stephen Hewitt
No comments:
Post a Comment