Breeding Bird Survey 2015 – it’s almost here
The Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) season is already creeping up on us! What will it be like on BBS squares this year? So far, the winter has been mild in the UK, good news for our resident birds, but March has been known to surprise us with harsher weather. As for migrant birds, how are they faring in their wintering grounds?
The Nest Record Scheme (NRS) and Constant Effort Sites Scheme (CES) preliminary results show Reed Warbler, Blackbird and Bullfinch had very high productivity levels in 2014, the highest since CES began in 1983! Sedge Warblers had low abundance but good productivity and Robins had both increased abundance and high productivity, compared to previous years.
So, will we be counting higher numbers of Robins and Bullfinches? Will there be more Sedge Warblers recorded than in 2014? Who knows…?
What we do know is that April will see the start of the 22nd year of Breeding Bird Surveys. This long-term monitoring scheme is vital in keeping track of our common breeding birds, ‘flagging up’ species undergoing long-term population change, contributing to research studies and informing decision-makers.
Two visits to a randomly allocated 1-km BBS squares and submitting the data online is all it takes. If you know common birds by sight and sound and are interested in taking part in the survey, please email bbs@bto.org or visit www.bto.org/bbs to find out more.
Join us in monitoring our common breeding birds in 2015, who knows what’s in store.
The BTO/JNCC/RSPB Breeding Bird Survey is run by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and is jointly funded by BTO, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) (on behalf of the Council for Nature Conservation and the Countryside, Natural England, Natural Resources Wales and Scottish Natural Heritage), and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).
Sarah Harris (BBS National Organiser)
21 January 2015
