West Galloway SOC - Birding in and Around Stranraer

Hello all,

On 1st April we will start the second year of breeding season fieldwork for the 2007-11 Bird Atlas. The first year got off to a great start with 40% of the required tetrads being surveyed for the breeding season in Scotland. In Wigtownshire 29 tetrads were covered last summer (17%) minimum requirement. There is still a lot to be done though to achieve full coverage here in Wigtownshire.

If you can identify most of our local birds, taking on a tetrad (a 2x2 km square) is not too onerous, not even in the busy summer period. You choose the tetrads you wish to survey. Two visits are required (one Apr/May the other Jun/Jul). Each visit is for one hour, or two hours if you wish (but keep a separate tally list for both hours). Results from last summer suggested that early visits are best done in May or late April, whilst the late visit should be done in June or very early July, as many birds are leaving upland areas by mid July. You choose a route covering the main habitats in the tetrad and count all the birds you see and hear. In some areas you can string tetrads together to cover a few in a morning�s walk. Once a tetrad has been surveyed it does not need to be resurveyed in subsequent years.

To find out which tetrads require survey work log onto the www.birdatlas.net website. Click on the Request a Tetrad button and choose your tetrads. It is that easy! Otherwise please contact your local organiser Geoff Sheppard on geoff.roddens@btinternet.com Geoff will be delighted to hear from you.

The other way to help is by submitting Roving Records. These help us complete the species lists for each square. All we need to know is the species, the date and the 10km square the birds were seen in. Data can be submitted online (click on Submit Roving Record button) or on paper forms, which can be obtained from bob.swann@bto.org on request. We are very keen that all summer Roving Records have an appropriate breeding evidence code. These codes can be found on all atlas forms. The aim is to record breeding evidence for all species at as high a level as possible.

Please consider helping us get complete cover for Wigtownshire for this important project. Not only is atlasing good fun it makes sure your bird records will be used for important conservation work, so please get involved.

Bob Swann (Scottish organiser) and Geoff Sheppard (Wigtownshire organiser).