Birders wanted to help with the BTO Bird Atlas
This is an opportunity for birders of all ages and levels of skill to make a contribution to producing the Bird Atlas.
The fieldwork for this exciting and important project starts on 1st November, there are two main ways in which you can take part.
1. By agreeing to visit one or more tetrads (a square of 2 km by 2 km) twice each for two hours each time, and recording the birds that you see. This is called a ‘Timed Tetrad Visit’ (TTV).
2. By submitting ‘Roving Records’. These could be observations from your garden or from an area you visit regularly. They could also be from a birding trip or of a single bird that you happen to see - e.g. a barn owl when you are driving. Some of you may already be submitting records to BirdTrack. All BirdTrack records will automatically be included in the data for the atlas so there will be no need to submit the same record twice.
The records can all be submitted on-line - which we are encouraging - or by sending completed recording forms.
All the information, including explanations of how to carry out a TTV and frequently asked questions, is available on the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) Website (www.bto.org or at www.birdatlas.net)
I am the BTO’s Regional Organiser (RO) for Northeast Norfolk. I am seeking volunteers to carry out TTVs in that area but also in areas covered by my colleagues.
If you register on-line the system will tell you the name of the regional organiser for that Tetrad. The regional organiser will automatically receive an e-mail and will contact you to confirm that I have booked the Tetrad(s) in your name.
I will be delighted to hear from you to discuss the project and to answer any questions.
My e-mail address is chris697@btinternet.com, my phone number 01603 868805 and my mobile 07771 635844.
Chris Hudson, British Trust for Ornithology