BirdTrack update - 24 July 2008

News came out this week of the first ever breeding of Cattle Egret in Britain, after a pair with a chick were see in a Somerset Grey Heron colony. The global spread of Cattle Egret has been quite amazing, with birds colonising Europe and even crossing the Atlantic to colonise South America. The first record was in Suriname in 1877, and by 1940 birds were breeding in North America! Hopefully the colonisation of Britain will be equally succesful, as these really are amazing and adaptable birds. More details on the first breeding can be found on the Somerset Ornithological Society website.

Last week's exciting news (the recapture of a Dutch-ringed Barn Owl in East Anglia), was rapidly followed by sad news, as this very same bird was killed by a car. Originally ringed in a nest in 2007 in the Overjissel region of The Netherlands, this bird was of the race 'guttata', colloquially known as Dark-breasted Barn Owl (more details of the original story can be found here). The bird was found dead after being hit by a car last weekend, and was reported to the BTO Ringing Unit.

The autumn passage of waders continues, with plenty of records coming in of species such as Ruff, Whimbrel, Greenshank and Green Sandpiper. Close scrutiny of suitable wetland areas may also reveal Spotted Redshank and Wood Sandpiper, both of which are often first noticed by their distinctive calls ('chu-it' and an excited 'chiff-iff-iff' respectively)

Bird Atlas 2007-11
The first summer of fieldwork for the Bird Atlas 2007-11 is coming to an end now, with the second period of breeding season recording ending at the end of the month. Records submitted to BirdTrack are an integral part of the Atlas process, and more information on why we need a new Atlas, and how you can help can be found here. To find out more about the relationship between BirdTrack and Atlas 2007-11, click here.

You can really see how your BirdTrack records count, and the maps below show the winter distribution of Buzzard in the last winter Atlas in 1981-84 (left) and BirdTrack records submitted during the winter fieldwork from November to February (right).

Anyone already registered for BirdTrack can easily set themselves up to take on Atlas fieldwork by following the Bird Atlas link from Survey Home. Don't forget though that all of the sightings you enter into BirdTrack will also be available for the Atlas, so there's no need to enter things twice. If you have any queries about the Atlas, then don't hesitate to get in touch with us.

Your records working for conservation
For more information on how your BirdTrack records are being used directly for conservation, check out the Bird Conservation Targeting Project. Project maps for farmland species can also be found on the main site here (and click on Agri-environment Targeting).

View all the archived BirdTrack news here.

To contact the BirdTrack Organiser
email:

Mark Grantham
BirdTrack Organiser

It is now quick and easy to find out which birds can be found on your own doorstep or at your local Nature Reserve.

You can download a species list by entering your postcode, browsing through a list of Nature Reserves, or simply clicking on a map. You can then view species by month, by season (breeding or wintering) or all year round. To start downloading, simply click here.

Important Notices

Desktop wallpaper to download
Every month we upload two different wallpapers to download to your desktop. For July, you can choose from images of Whitethroat and Mute Swan. These can all be downloaded here.

We also now have a selection of recorders' photos online, so if you see something interesting, take a shot and send it in. The best, rarest or most unusual will add to our ever-growing library!

BirdTrack is an exciting project that looks at migration movements and distributions of birds throughout Britain and Ireland. BirdTrack provides facilities for observers to store and manage their own records and for forwarding records to their County Bird Recorders. The results will contribute to knowledge of birds and to their conservation at national, regional and local scales. BirdTrack developed from Migration Watch, which ran in the springs of 2002-2004. All of the data gathered through Migration Watch is incorporated within BirdTrack, though the old Migration Watch site can still be viewed here.

How do I register as a recorder? Click on the "Register for BirdTrack" button listed under 'Your options' in the blue box at the top left of this page and then choose the relevant page. On subsequent visits just click the "Login to enter sightings" button to enter the part of the site where you can enter and view your own data.

Update your email Click on 'Login to enter sightings' and you will arrive at Data Home. Click on 'My details and settings' and you can update your email there. You can also change the species order from alphabetical to taxonomic.

Bird recording outside Britain and Ireland. Visit www.worldbirds.org to find out about other countries with online recording systems that would welcome your records.

Website response times (11 January 2008)
Due to the success of the BTO’s online data gathering projects our servers are currently subject to exceptionally heavy use, with peak activity in the early evenings. We apologise that this is sometimes causing very slow response times, and very occasionally generating error pages. We are in the process of commissioning a more powerful server but this may not be in place until late January. In the meantime we would be very grateful if you would use the system at the less busy times of day (i.e. mornings) where possible. Thank you for supporting the BTO’s online surveys and please accept our apologies for any inconvenience.

BirdTrack was designed in conjunction with Matt Parker Software Contracting Ltd.