Winter Thrush Survey up and running

The Winter Thrush Survey is now live.

It is designed to investigate seasonal and geographic patterns of use of the landscape by six wintering/migratory thrushes and the importance of key food resources such as berries and will run over the next two winters. Participants are being invited to walk regular routes on their allocated sites and record the presence, activity and a few key habitat features of any thrushes seen. It is also possible to record information for a few other species such as Starling and Waxwing.

You can select your own sites for regular visits and there is also a selection of 20 core sites that I need to get covered at least once per winter. Please contact me if you wish to take on a core site by selecting the option on the Winter Thrush website, email or phone.

Further information on this survey, including methods, information on the population status and migration of thrushes, thrush identification videos, and a berry identification guide are available from the Winter Thrushes Survey homepage at http://www.bto.org/volunteer-surveys/winter-thrushes. Downloadable field recording forms and detailed instructions are also be available.

And...

A parallel piece of work, launching on 30th September and running over this winter, examines how wintering thrushes use the berries and other fruits available in gardens. This work, the ‘Birds and Garden Berries Study’ will identify which fruits (both native and non-native) are used at different points throughout the winter. It will also establish whether birds show preferences for particular types or colours of berry.
Further details are available from the BTO website, www.bto.org.