BTO
Report July 2006
Most species have now finished nesting and young birds can be seen in
our gardens, some species such as Bullfinch and Reed Warbler will still
be breeding well into August. Those species that have more than one brood
may benefit from the fine weather and abundance of insects that we have
been experiencing in most areas. On the other hand, ground feeding birds
like Blackbird and Song Thrush are probably finding it difficult to extract
worms from hard-baked lawns and will welcome the ripening of autumn soft
fruits and berries. Remember it is important to supply water for the birds
in your garden if possible. Tawny Owls and Barn Owls are late this year
and brood sizes seem to be low.
Seabird colonies will still be active throughout most of August and it's a great time to go and visit. Reports from colonies suggest it has been a mixed breeding season, with some species nesting late (mainly Guillemot). Kittiwake numbers appear to be down at many locations.
During early August we will see the departure of Swifts and towards the end of the month many other migrants will be leaving our shores too. Recording the last date we see a migrant is always tricky, as we never know when it is our last! By contributing complete lists to BirdTrack on a regular basis we will automatically be able to pick up the last dates you see a species.
We are keen that you register sites at the 1km level wherever possible rather than at the 10km level. For those of you that have agreed for your records to be passed onto county bird recorders, having bird records at the 1km level is much more useful than at the 10km level. We appreciate that some sites you may cover are large, and sometimes registering it at the 10km level is most appropriate. If you go birdwatching at a site that covers a bit more than a 1km square, choose the central 1km grid reference and register that. Linear sites often pose the greatest difficulty, such as walks along rivers or along the coast. Again, we suggest you register a single 1km square as the grid reference. You can always use the comments box next to each species to give a more accurate grid reference for any particularly interesting species you see.
We have also produced a new BirdTrack leaflet to help promote the website. If you can think of places to display a few leaflets and would like a bundle, please let me know by email (birdtrack@bto.org) and give an idea of how many you want and your full postal address.