News
Sunday, 26 August 2007
The New National Bird Atlas 2007- 2011
There will be two main components of the fieldwork, "Timed Tetrad Visits" (TTVs) and "Roving Records". A tetrad is a block of four 1km squares, making 25 of them in each 10km square. To carry out a TTV, the observer is asked to spend at least one hour and preferably two, walking through the tetrad recording every bird heard or seen. Two such visits will be made in the breeding season and two in the winter. The resulting figures will then be used to calculate the relative abundance of each species in the 10km square.
Equally important are roving visits, general birdwatching visits to each square with no time limits and made as frequently as you wish. The idea of these visits is to compile a comprehensive list of species present in every square in order to build up an overall picture of the national distribution of each species. Such visits will also be used, during the spring/summer months, to record evidence of breeding.
You can make a real contribution to the atlas by signing up as a volunteer. I will be co-ordinating the fieldwork in Wiltshire. If you are interested in helping please let me know, by post, e-mail or telephone. My contact details are:
Bill Quantrill, BTO Regional Representative for Wiltshire
36 Newtown, Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire BA15 1NF
Telephone: 01225 866245 ; e-mail: william.quantrill@btinternet.com
Bird Atlas 2007-2011 is a partnership between BTO, the Scottish Ornithologists Club and BirdWatch Ireland. You can find out more about the project at the website - or from me. BILL QUANTRILL