8 January 2010

Heidi Mellan, WeBS Counter Network Organiser, has issued advise to WeBS counters about disturbance to waterbirds in harsh winter conditions.

This is in advance of the next WeBS date (17th January) and it was felt best to bring the BTO article to everyones attention.

Peter Dare and Pete Reay are looking forward to receiving your Summer Migrant Arrival and Departure Dates in Devon (SMADD) pilot survey records. Even if you only have one date for one species, please send it in, as the responses to the pilot survey will help decide the scope of the full survey (due to start with summer migrant arrivals in 2010), and what modifications to the survey may be needed.

14 May 2009

During the spring and summer of 2008, a breeding bird survey, funded by the Exmoor National Park, Natural England and South West Water, was carried out on moorlands within Exmoor National Park.

The main objective was to provide current data on the breeding populations of moorland birds, and put these into both a national and regional context. The survey also aimed to highlight trends in species abundance and distribution since previous surveys in 1978, 1992/93 and 2002, and investigate habitat associations relating to these trends.

20 February 2009

The late Mark Blacksell and late John Woodland worked tirelessly to recruit and encourage birdwatchers across Devon to participate in the national BTO Atlas by taking on tetrads for timed counts and to make a note of their casual records. In a special report for the Devon Birds website, National Coordinator DAWN BALMER reports on progress with the survey in Devon.

The categorisation of species as either County or National rarities is given in the listing at the back of each year's Devon Bird Report. You can also find this information on the Devon List & Checklist page, which includes a link to a downloadable pdf of the current Devon Checklist.

Submitting records of Devon County rarities

Please submit records of Devon County rarities using this Devon Rarity Form (44 KB Word file) to Mike Langman, the County Recorder.

This section contains articles on birding localities, as well as trip reports by DBWPS branches.

Articles available

This section contains articles written especially for the website that focus on bird biology, identification, fieldwork and the like. 

Articles available

What a fantastic response from Devon birders

Revised text of a John Woodland report from August 2008

The last published Atlas is 20 years old and increasingly out of date. Atlasses are one of the main tools used by conservationists to identify and underpin the actions that need to be taken to protect the natural environment. The need to update the 1988-91 Atlas is therefore paramount. Thus, in 2007, the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), together with BirdWatch Ireland (BWI) and the Scottish Ornithologists’ Club (SOC) embarked upon this mammoth task, one that will take four years to complete.

Early findings

Revised text of a John Woodland report of April 2008

The submission of Atlas records on-line allows the BTO very quickly to build a picture of the distributions of birds. The orange dots on the maps below are based entirely on records submitted to the website as Roving Records and Timed Tetrad Visits and show presence in a 10-km square. However, these maps do not show the complete picture; it will take four years to do that!

Thirty one million birds counted so far.

Revised text of a John Woodland piece from 30 March 2008

November 2007 saw the start of the biggest survey ever to take place in the UK. A new “Winter” atlas and a new “Breeding” atlas will result after 4 years fieldwork during 2007-2011.

John Woodland

Tim Davis, Editor

It is with deep sadness that we report the death of John Woodland, shortly before Christmas, on 18 December 2008. John had been ill for some time but continued to fulfil his role as BTO Regional Representative and Devon Atlas Coordinator until only a few days before his death.

John’s enthusiasm for and dedication to the birds of Devon, especially through his work on behalf of the BTO, a role he filled for many years, were immense. He will be much missed and a very hard act to follow. A full obituary will appear in a forthcoming issue of Devon Birds.

Cold weather and waterbirds

Britain is currently undergoing its most prolonged period of cold weather for over a decade. In such circumstances, it is important to be especially careful in minimising any unnecessary disturbance of wild birds, especially the wildfowl, waders and other waterbirds that visit our coastal and inland wetlands in such internationally important numbers. In frozen conditions, birds not only need to expend more energy to maintain their body temperature, but food becomes much more difficult for them to obtain. In such cases, disturbance by people only adds further to the physical stress on birds, and such additional disturbance may result in increased mortality.

The Devon List & Checklist – Introduction

Introduction

There are two lists available from this page.

List 1 – Devon List

The first list is a standard Devon List, similar to those presented in the Devon Bird Report each year. The only change from the usual DBR format is the lack of BOLD type to denote a species seen in the current year. This is fully covered by the fact that any species that does NOT have a year appended to the end of the line has been seen in the current year.

Pete Reay, 2006

To further the study of birds in the field – a DBWPS objective.

The stated objectives of the Society are ‘to further the study of birds in the field and to assist in their conservation’. Study and conservation are distinct areas of activity, but are closely linked because it is generally acknowledged that the most effective conservation is based on sound study. Nevertheless, it is perfectly acceptable to study birds purely out of interest and independent of any application in conservation; one example here might be recording the passage of seabirds from headlands.

Pete Reay, February 2006

The National Surveys listing is being brought up to date and will be posted very soon. In the meantime this is the list as published by the Fieldwork Planning Group in 2006.  

Links: BTO & RSPB