The Swallow Feeding Survey 2004

Survey help needed for foraging Swallows

The Swallow is our quintessential summer migrant; always anticipated, common and widespread. When it sweeps across the country to settle and breed, it frequently adopts strongly-modified human environments, as if to underline its resilience to changes in land-use and habitat quality. Unfortunately, there is recent evidence of regional declines of Swallows in Britain that have identified significant gaps in our knowledge of their use of habitats. Compared with most common species, we know relatively little about the importance of different crops, hedgerows, tree lines, field margins or even different livestock types to their foraging needs. Problems within the UK are coupled with worrying trends from Southern Africa, that emphasize the urgent need for reliable, up-to-date and representative information on this species ecology.

To obtain a national picture of the relative use of different habitat types by foraging Swallows a small amount of information is needed from many different locations across the UK. To get this information, the Swallow Feeding Survey requires observers to make two visits, between May and August, to four points within a 2km square area, spending 10 minutes at each point. You can also count martins, Swifts and their potential predators such as Kestrel, Hobby and Sparrowhawk. The total survey time amounts to less than 2.5 hours per visit.

The Swallow Feeding Survey is a truly national event. Swallows breed virtually throughout the length and breadth of the UK and its success will depend on widespread help from volunteers.

To take part in the survey or for further information, please contact your local Regional Representative or either Chas Holt or Ian Henderson at BTO Thetford. Email: chas.holt@bto.org or ian.henderson@bto.org or telephone 01842 750050