Hello all I will bring you all up to date with survey progress this week, and offer you the option of borrowing portable speakers to undertake the playback call method of detection. Regards Wayne
The selection of some of the tetrads seems a bit odd, Ine of them covers te area around Rhaslas pond. I haven't been up there for a couple of years, but I don't recall there being any Willow Tit habitat there. As someone on the course remarked "You can tell the RSPB don't organise surveys often."
True, Martin. They left out the area near Llwydcoed, where I get them and I don't think the top Tirfounder field and canal are in one of the squares, either. I am hoping to mae a dry run of the transects I've worked out, to see how it works. I won't be luring; just trying out the route and timings. I am really worried that there is quite a bit of suitable habitat in the Cwmbach tetrad, but it is very disjointed and a lot of time will be wasted walking between areas of suitable habitat, making the survey take too long.
I must admit I've not really had a good look at what is on offer with the National Survey - sort of presumed they would just allow us to retain our squares from the Glam survey. From the above discussion it looks more like the BTO have randomly generated squares within the known occupied 10km grid areas. hence some are in completely unsuitable areas and other suitable squares are missed out. Such surveys utilising random squares produce better statistical analysis at a national level - hence the random distribution of the BBS squares. They do not, however, reflect local populations that well. So Birdtracking your observations of Willow Tit, ideally to 1km square areas is much better way to record the local population trends.
Yes Martin I will and I did upper Tir Founder for the glamorgan Willow Tit survey and I only had it once by the canal and I will try it again and i will try some square from the glamorgan survey and the one by me as only called once this year and I have not seen it in the garden .
HIYA. I realise you may have split allegiance between the local GBC survey and the National RSPB survey, but I do hope you will take part in the National WT Survey. There is a small random tetrad allocation, but the majority have WT records against them, either recent or from the last two BTO Atlases. Recognising your main birding areas (Aberdare to Garwnant/Beacons Res to Neuadd Reservoirs), 8 tetrads that were originally allocated to Brecknock - some in error - have been added to the Glamorgan list as these tetrads are best served from the south. Thanks to Wayne for agreeing to take these on. These areas have some of the best habitats and most recent WT sightings so they are all prime spots for the National Survey. Good luck! Andrew
I think I am finally getting to grips with all the different aspects of the thing, Andrew. I have sussed out all the disjointed sections of transect and worked out a route. There are 28 sampling points, which will take some 2 hours in themselves (hope the mobile's battery is up to it), plus the walking between sample points. The only thing I am struggling with is memorising the BTO activities codes. I think I will have to carry a crib sheet with me, for those. I'll be a lot happier once I have completed the first visit. I just hope I don't come across any colour ringed birds.
By the nature of the spread of potentially suitable habitat across most tetrads, there will plenty of links across sections of unsuitable moorland/farmland/comm forestry when you will not trouble the playback. I intend taking a separate notebook to record all contacts against grid-refs/playback points, and annotate the maps after I get home. Activity codes - its some years since I did CBC/WBBS so I too will take a print-out of them. Use the one that Wayne has put on the surveys web-site as the RSPB one is incorrect. Dummy-runs by several Brecs surveyors yesterday at least found several Willow and Marsh Tits coming in response to playback.
Hello all
ReplyDeleteI will bring you all up to date with survey progress this week, and offer you the option of borrowing portable speakers to undertake the playback call method of detection.
Regards
Wayne
I have thought about and just not signed up to yet and when the dead line.
ReplyDeleteThe middle of this month is the start.
DeleteFor what I can see they have picked square on moorland or habitat was wrong and don,t think I will take part or I may do the one in brecon beacons.
ReplyDeleteThe selection of some of the tetrads seems a bit odd, Ine of them covers te area around Rhaslas pond. I haven't been up there for a couple of years, but I don't recall there being any Willow Tit habitat there. As someone on the course remarked "You can tell the RSPB don't organise surveys often."
DeleteNo I think they close there eyes and stuck a pin in the map.
ReplyDeleteTrue, Martin. They left out the area near Llwydcoed, where I get them and I don't think the top Tirfounder field and canal are in one of the squares, either. I am hoping to mae a dry run of the transects I've worked out, to see how it works. I won't be luring; just trying out the route and timings. I am really worried that there is quite a bit of suitable habitat in the Cwmbach tetrad, but it is very disjointed and a lot of time will be wasted walking between areas of suitable habitat, making the survey take too long.
DeleteI must admit I've not really had a good look at what is on offer with the National Survey - sort of presumed they would just allow us to retain our squares from the Glam survey. From the above discussion it looks more like the BTO have randomly generated squares within the known occupied 10km grid areas. hence some are in completely unsuitable areas and other suitable squares are missed out. Such surveys utilising random squares produce better statistical analysis at a national level - hence the random distribution of the BBS squares. They do not, however, reflect local populations that well. So Birdtracking your observations of Willow Tit, ideally to 1km square areas is much better way to record the local population trends.
ReplyDeleteYes Martin I will and I did upper Tir Founder for the glamorgan Willow Tit survey and I only had it once by the canal and I will try it again and i will try some square from the glamorgan survey and the one by me as only called once this year and I have not seen it in the garden .
ReplyDeleteHIYA. I realise you may have split allegiance between the local GBC survey and the National RSPB survey, but I do hope you will take part in the National WT Survey. There is a small random tetrad allocation, but the majority have WT records against them, either recent or from the last two BTO Atlases. Recognising your main birding areas (Aberdare to Garwnant/Beacons Res to Neuadd Reservoirs), 8 tetrads that were originally allocated to Brecknock - some in error - have been added to the Glamorgan list as these tetrads are best served from the south. Thanks to Wayne for agreeing to take these on. These areas have some of the best habitats and most recent WT sightings so they are all prime spots for the National Survey. Good luck! Andrew
ReplyDeleteI think I am finally getting to grips with all the different aspects of the thing, Andrew. I have sussed out all the disjointed sections of transect and worked out a route. There are 28 sampling points, which will take some 2 hours in themselves (hope the mobile's battery is up to it), plus the walking between sample points. The only thing I am struggling with is memorising the BTO activities codes. I think I will have to carry a crib sheet with me, for those. I'll be a lot happier once I have completed the first visit. I just hope I don't come across any colour ringed birds.
ReplyDeleteBy the nature of the spread of potentially suitable habitat across most tetrads, there will plenty of links across sections of unsuitable moorland/farmland/comm forestry when you will not trouble the playback. I intend taking a separate notebook to record all contacts against grid-refs/playback points, and annotate the maps after I get home. Activity codes - its some years since I did CBC/WBBS so I too will take a print-out of them. Use the one that Wayne has put on the surveys web-site as the RSPB one is incorrect. Dummy-runs by several Brecs surveyors yesterday at least found several Willow and Marsh Tits coming in response to playback.
ReplyDelete