BTO Breeding Bird Survey
While everybody out there is busy tetradding and doing roving reports for the BTO Atlas, this is a reminder that the good old BTO Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) continues this year, and observers are still needed. BBS is the principal tool for calculating increases and decreases in the UK’s breeding birds, which you see quoted everywhere in the media. It involves coverage of a single one-km square (i.e. a quarter of a tetrad) twice in the breeding season, once in late April or May, once in late May or June. Each observer covers two 500 metre transects in their square, and counts every bird seen. The results can be sent in on forms or online. The BTO computer chooses squares randomly; this prevents bias which would be caused by people choosing the best sites, and nowadays some 2,500 to 3,000 squares are covered each year. In recent years about 50 squares have been covered each year in the BTO Gloucestershire Region.
Interested: The following squares are still available in Gloucester for 2008:
SO 7628 Upleadon; SO 7926 Ashleworth; SO 8319 Urban Gloucester; SO 8718 Hucclecote; SO 9026 Elmstone Hardwicke; SO 9716 Seven Springs; SP 0306 North Cerney; SP 0507 Cirencester Ampney Downs; SP 0637 Broadway; SP 1009 Coln Rogers; SP 1114 Northleach; SP 1331 Condicote; SP 1409 Aldsworth; SP 1414 Farmington; SP 1804 Southrop
The following BBS squares are still available in the North Wiltshire region:
ST8284 Wick Farm, Nr Luckington; ST8384 Luckington; ST8579 Foscote; ST8975 Allington; ST9288 Backbridge Farm, Nr Malmesbury; ST9580 Lower Seagry; ST9780 Dodford Farm, Nr Lower Seagry; SU1967 Brown's Farm, Nr Marlborough; SU2589 Shrivenham
Any volunteers would be most welcome - please contact:
Gloucestershire: Mike Smart
BTO Regional Representative for Glos
143 Cheltenham Road, Gloucester GL2 0JH
Tel: 01452.421131
Email: smartmike@btinternet.com “
Wiltshire: Bill Quantrill
BTO Regional Representative for Wiltshire
36 Newtown, Bradford-in-Avon, Wiltshire BA15 1NF
Tel: 01225 866245
e-mail: william.quantrill@btinternet.com