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BTO Scotland
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The Building Bird Monitoring in Scotland project aims to encourage volunteers of all skill and experience levels to take part in bird recording schemes. The project is a partnership between the British Trust for Ornithology Scotland, The Scottish Ornithologists’ Club, Scottish Natural Heritage and The Gillman Trusts. Increasing the numbers of volunteers involved in bird recording will greatly benefit our understanding of birds in Scotland and will ultimately make a real difference for bird conservation. Find out more about the project, including details of free local bird survey ‘taster’ days. |
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Garden Birdwatch in Scotland
The
Garden Birdwatch project is flourishing in Scotland but we are always
looking for new volunteers. To find out more about how your efforts
can help us to discover more about the birds that visit our gardens
click here.
The BIG Project (Biodiversity in Glasgow)
People in Glasgow are enjoying the task of surveying birds and butterflies
through the Biodiversity in Glasgow (BIG) Project. The project is
a partnership between the British Trust for Ornithology, Scotland
and Butterfly Conservation Scotland. The information collected by
volunteers in Glasgow will be used to inform the management of the
city’s green spaces in order to enhance urban biodiversity.
In addition, records of the birds and butterflies from Garden Birdwatch
and the Breeding Bird Survey will help us learn more about wildlife
in other Scottish towns and cities.
You don’t have to be an expert in birds or butterflies to
take part in the BIG project and we are now recruiting volunteers
to survey in 2008. If you would like to find out more, then please
click
here.
Scotland – its birds and birdwatchers
Scotland's
bird life is quite different from that of the rest of the UK, characterised
by birds typical of northern climes, some of them found in internationally
important numbers. Its upland areas are rich in
breeding waders and birds of prey. Its coasts and seas are home
to spectacular seabird colonies. Its straths and glens retain ancient
pine with Capercaillie, Crested Tits and Scottish Crossbill. There
are birch and oak woods that hold Wood Warblers, Pied Flycatchers
and Redstarts. Scotland holds all or most of the UK population
of Sea Eagles and Corncrakes and is the key area in the UK for 23
of the 175 species listed on the EU Birds Directive. In winter Scotland
provides refuge for waders and wildfowl on its wetlands, seaducks,
divers and grebes on its coast and lowland farmland still supports
wintering finches and buntings albeit in reducing numbers.
To survey these important birds in an area comprising 32% of the
UK, there is only 9% of the UK’s human population. Most of these
people are concentrated in a few large conurbations in the central
lowlands. There are huge areas that are relatively under-watched,
particularly the uplands, the north and west coasts, all of which
are scarcely populated, remote, and often inaccessible.
Birdwatchers
in Scotland while relatively few, are very active and display a
level of activity that belies their relatively small numbers. Numbers
of birds ringed, coverage of surveys, numbers of nest record cards
- almost any measure of participation in BTO work that you care
to name - are well above the 9% that one would expect on the basis
of population alone.
The BTO Scotland Initiative
BTO Scotland started operation on 28 February 2000. Its main functions
are to promote the work of the BTO in Scotland, to develop wider
coverage for surveys in Scotland, by encouraging greater participation
in BTO survey work by Scottish birdwatchers, and to develop contract
research income within Scotland. BTO Scotland ensures that the work
the Trust does is not just related to the priorities of the UK as
a whole but is also focused on the priorities of Scotland, with
a landscape and wildlife so different from the rest of the UK.
The BTO Scotland Office does not take the place of the Regional
Representatives in Scotland; it provides a point of contact closer
to home. It provides support and encouragement them, to help them
do their jobs better and further improve the work of BTO as a whole.
BTO Scotland is also building partnerships with universities,
government agencies, voluntary bodies and amateur ornithologists.
The work that these partnerships will achieve will allow conservationists
and policy makers within Scotland to make sound decisions on policy
and management for Scotland’s birds.
Of course, to underpin our projects we have to find funds. Funding
that originates in Scotland, is likely to be easier to obtain from
the office of BTO Scotland than from the headquarters office in England.
BTO Scotland and The SOC
One of the main partnerships is with The SOC. The SOC has a membership
of 2000 and are key partners in Scottish-wide bird surveys. For
the first two years, the BTO Scotland office was at the SOC's Edinburgh
headquarters, relocating to the grounds of Stirling University Campus
when the SOC moved in Spring 2002. The BTO and SOC hold annual joint
one day conferences each spring to promote survey work and amateur
birdwatching.
BTO Scotland staff
There are nine members of staff in BTO Scotland.
| Senior Research Ecologist |
Dr Chris Wernham |
| Principal Secretary |
Rebecca Cranston |
| Secretary |
Anne Cotton |
| Research Officer |
John Calladine |
| Research Ecologist |
Dr Liz Humphreys |
| Development Coordinator |
Mandy Cook |
| Development & Administration Officer |
Robin Anderson |
| Fieldwork Coordinator |
Martin Moss |
| Research Ecologist |
Staffan Roos |
Chris Wernham is Senior Research Ecologist, with a wide breadth
of expertise and experience in running some major BTO projects.
John Calladine, Liz Humphreys and Staffan Roos are Research
Ecologists working on a range of projects. Rebecca Cranston and Anne Cotton
ensure the smooth running of the Scottish office administration
and research support. Mandy Cook is responsible for development tasks and the promotion of the
trust in Scotland. Robin Anderson assists
in both development and administration tasks. Martin Moss is a Field Ornithologist and is responsible for the
coordination of fieldwork. He also works as a trainer for BTO Scotland.
Funding the Initiative
Funding to launch the Initiative came from Scottish Natural Heritage,
the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation and the BTO.
How can you help?
If you are a birdwatcher living in Scotland or visit regularly
and would like to help with BTO surveys then contact BTO Scotland
for more information. For details of surveys requiring volunteers
click here.
For a map showing the areas covered by Scotland's Regional Representatives,
and their contact details click here.
Contacting BTO Scotland
BTO Scotland
School of Biological and Environmental Sciences
Cottrell Building, University of Stirling,
Stirling FK9 4LA Scotland
Tel: 01786 466560 Fax 01786 466 561 Email:
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