Bird Surveys

Between Christmas and the New Year I have been taking part in the on-going Bird Atlas survey organised by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO). This ambitious project aims to map the distribution and abundance of all the birds nesting and wintering in Britain and Ireland between 2007-11. If you are a birdwatcher it is a great way to contribute to a big project and find out more about the birds in your local area. Visit http://www.bto.org/ for more information.


Basically it involves walking around a 2 kilometre by 2 kilometre square and counting all birds seen over two hourly periods. I have chosen a square between Gislingham and Burgate that is mostly large arable fields and hedges. I didn't expect to find a great variety of birds but did record 30 species. Two big flocks of Skylarks totalled over 120 birds - an impressive count for this declining species. There were also good numbers of Yellowhammers and Bullfinches. As is usual in this part of Suffolk you count an awful lot of Woodpigeons and Rooks! I was hoping to find a flock of Lapwings or Golden Plovers but they had probably moved on to the coast in this cold weather. The winter survey has to be repeated in January or February.

Here are the answers to the Bird Brain Quiz:

1. Sir Christopher WREN

2. Nicholas CRANE

3. Clarice STARLING

4. Graham SWIFT

5. MERLIN

6.BLACKCAP

7. MALLARD

8. GOLDENEYE

9.MAGPIE

10. The HOUSE MARTINS

A happy New Year to you all.