Wildlife - Bird Surveys

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Bird Populations

  • birds can be grouped into a number of populations on whether they breed in Britain and on where they over-winter
  • affects birds present at any given time of year, their behaviour and the methods used to survey them
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Resident Species

  • e.g., blue ****, tawny owls, wrens, nuthatches, linnets
  • adults particularly males, defend territory through the winter, though some birds may move southwards (e.g., to the south coast) in the winter before returning in spring
  • some resident birds such as the robin
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Summer Visitors

  • E.g., barn swallows, warblers and flycatchers
  • Summer visitors which breed in the UK but migrate southwards to over-winter in southern Europe or Africa
  • Generally insect eaters
  • Arrive in the UK between March and May and depart between July and October. The first brood juveniles are the first to leave.
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Winter Visitors

  • Winter visitors breed in Northern and Eastern Europe but migrate to the UK and spend the winter here.
  • Examples include many waders and wildfowl as well as raptors such as the hen harrier and short-eared owl, and flocking species such as redwing and fieldfare, brambling, lesser redpoll
  • Numbers of some resident birds, such as the starling, blackbird and chaffinch are swelled by visitors from mainland Europe.
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Passage Migrants

  • Passage migrants are birds which pass through the UK in spring and autumn, migrating between breeding areas North and East of the UK and over-wintering areas further south
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Vagrant and Accidentals

  • Arrive in the UK occasionally arrive in the uk by accident
  • Cause lots of excitement for bird watchers
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Global Warming Impact

  • Global warming is having an effect on bird populations in the UK
  • Some species such as the blackcap, which were traditionally summer visitors have started overwintering here
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Bird Survey Methods

  • Birds are one of the easiest groups to survey because they are relatively easy to see and they are highly vocal.
  • Flocking/colonial species tend to be clumped in their distribution and can be surveyed by simple counting.
  • Territorial species tend to be evenly distributed through their habitat and are surveyed by territory mapping, line transects or point counts.
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Bird Survey Methods: Counts of Colonies

  • Useful for species that nest, roost or migrate in numbers
  • Literally counting individuals
  • May birds nest in colonies
    • Some nest on cliffs, on the ground and others in trees
    • Breeding is synchronised so that all the breeding birds can be counted at the same time
  • Leks
    • Some birds show lekking behaviour (black grouse, ruff and capercaillies)
  • Roosts
    • Roost communally during the night or during periods when their feeding grounds are inaccessible
  • Wildfowl and wader counts
  • The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust organises counts on the middle Sunday of the month at selected sites throughout the UK
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Territory Mapping

  • Marking boundaries of their territories with song
  • Territory mapping is used to determine how many territories of each species there are in a given study area
  • Large-scale detailed maps are first prepared of the area then a number of thorough vists are made during which all evidence of birds is plotted on visit maps.
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Line Transects

  • Used to survey birds of open habitats such as moorland, downland, or the open sea.
  • The surveyor walks (or sails) along the chosen route, recording the birds seen on either side.
  • Ideally the route should be random rather than following any linear features such as hedge or stream which might affect the species seen.
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Point Counts

  • A point count is a bird count carried out from a fixed position.
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Bird-ringing Scheme

  • 900,000 birds ringed in Britain
  • Each ring will have a serial number that can be uploaded to the database.
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Garden Birdwatch

  • Found urban birds get up later than rural birds.
  • House sparrows have declined.
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