At the same time as I contacted the BTO about a report that they produced for Natural England (see my email to BTO, their reply to me and my response to them) I also asked Natural England for a copy of the said report. It’s a report from 2018, it’s referenced in Natural England guidance…
Tag: BTO
Reply from the BTO
I contacted the BTO about a report they produced for Natural England and have had this rapid response from Andy Clements: Dear Mark Thank you for contacting me requesting a copy of the report to Natural England, Kettel, E & Siriwardena, GM 2018. Comparisons of breeding bird population and abundance trends within and outside two…
BTO press release – Juliet Vickery to be new CEO
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The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) has named Professor Juliet Vickery as its new Chief Executive.Juliet, who is currently the RSPB’s Head of International Conservation Science, said that ‘to have been trusted with this position is an enormous privilege and a hugely exciting opportunity.’ Juliet will join BTO in November, working alongside the current Chief…
A rather dull BBS survey
I was out of the house at 05:40 this morning to do the Late visit to my other BBS square. There were a few drops of rain, hardly any, but the sky was dark enough to make me wonder whether this afternoon’s forecast thunder storms might arrive early – they didn’t, and they still haven’t…
The marvellous BBS – marvellous for mammals
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It’s nearly time for me to carry out the ‘late’ bird survey on my other BBS square. I wonder what I’ll find. I’m one of the BBS recorders who notes mammals as well as birds on my transect walks. I don’t see much, but the occasional Brown Hare or Rabbit is added to the recording…
BBS ‘late’ visit
I was back at one of my BBS squares this morning. It was a cold morning and the birds seemed to be sulking a bit. However, there are always birds to be seen, noted and their existence entered online so that’s what I have done. There weren’t many people about either. ‘Best’ birds? Bullfinch isn’t…
BBS report for 2019
The 2019 Breeding Bird Survey report has been online for some time (which is very good – things are speeding up) and my paper copy arrived a while ago but I have now read most of what I am ever going to read in it. It’s a very good report – the 25th report covering…
My second BBS visit
This morning I did the first visit of 2020 to my second Breeding Bird Survey square. Although starting in a sizeable village, as usual, there weren’t many people about, and as usual the caged canaries in a shed in a garden made me pause briefly to think ‘What’s that?’. I did meet a man with…
Bird surveys under COVID 19
Advice from the BTO: Not straightforward is it? That’s what it’s like running an international bird survey with different administrations taking slightly different lines on travel etc. Still, you might expect a global pandemic to have some major impacts and this isn’t one of them! Restrictions in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland will have to…
My first BBS visit
Travelling a couple of miles by car for a 6km walk is the furthest I’ve been for weeks. But we are in mid-May and the May is out in flower, and this is the time for the first visit to Breeding Bird Survey squares. I can see why the BTO hasn’t yet updated its guidance…