Atlas listing (5 Viewers)

[Mike Cook]

Duff gen in post #70

Sorry, my post #70 was incorrect. I have just received an email from my RO saying that he incorrectly said that the 'F' code in roving records can only be used in the breeding season. It can be used in either season. I'm going back in to change my original post. Apologies once again

Mike

 

[Capercaillie71]

This is an even more stupid question . Do we have to visit each tetrad twice in each season once over the the 4 years or do we have to visit it twice in each season every year?

Only one year out of the four.

 

[markgrubb]

Mark, I was sent that sheet with all my TTV and Roving Record forms... but it looks as if others were not so lucky.
Re-reading it, it says that you should only count 'full-grown adult individuals' during the breeding season. So, if you see a flock of gulls, for example, you presumably have to go through them and decide how many are adults - not a problem I'm likely to have in Surrey!

On the Roving Records forms, it says: "For birds flying over please put F in the 'Code' column to signify this." It doesn't say anything about not doing so inside or outside the breeding season.
Ken

Here's what my RO had to say about the queries you raised

Good points; I had been wondering the same and got an answer when at an Atlas working group meeting on Friday. On the timed visits, flying birds are only included if they are using the tetrad – hunting, soaring over, moving from one tree to another – but heading overhead and not likely to be landing within the tetrad, no. However, they can be entered in the Roving Records form because here we are trying to collect species for 10km squares, a much bigger area. So flyovers are OK here (but we may not use them for the local atlas at tetrad level - our problem).

On the breeding non-adults; yes ignore these type of birds. In breeding season, the counts are trying to assess potentially breeding individuals not total numbers (unlike in winter), so any sub-adults/juveniles/chicks are excluded.

These are useful points and I will include them in our local updates, one of which I’m hoping to send out to volunteers very soon (though the 2nd point I’ll hang on to ready for a spring update).

 

[Mike Cook]

Pink-footed geese

Just finished NZ29W, my first coastal tetrad. My total for the 10km square is up to 73 species with another 24 being seen by others. The RB mergansers on the sea were nice as were the 9 eider, 22 curlew and about 50 each of oystercatcher, redshank and turnstone.

The high point though was about 1000 pink-footed geese taking off from the fields around Cresswell. That was quite a spectacle. :eek!: I hadn't realised there were so many in the area.

By the way, if you abbreviate pink-footed goose to pink-foot, what's the plural, pink-foots or pink-feet? I think pink-feet sounds a bit weird.|:S|

Mike

 

[Nickgas]

Just done 1 tetrad so far, but I've found nuthatch within half a mile of my house, something I wasn't expecting at all. Terrible admission - I've been astounded by the range of habitat that is within walking distance of my house, areas that I have never visited until now.
Doing another tetrad next week if weather is good, this time more countryside than town. Wonder what will surprise me then?

I've found That's one of the great bonuses of the atlas work is realising what's around us. I've had the same effect through having young kids which has meant I do a lot more birding within walking distance of my home. I live inland mainly surrounded by rather uninteresting farmland but a Merlin over the garden last week was my 116th species within a mile of my house.

 

[CornishExile]

Am chipping away with roving records for my home tetrads. TTV's for them are going to have to wait a couple of weeks until I'm off for a fortnight over Christmas.

Not a bad weekend just gone, adding a few species (albeit not unexpected ones) to the grand total. I suppose the highlight in terms of relative rarity was Wigeon (I can go months or even years without chancing upon them at my end of the island), but from a purely aesthetic perspective, the hot action was on the sea - glassy calm at one point, allowing me to see double figures of Great Northern Diver and Long-tailed Duck, with one flock of 16 of the latter coming close inshore for a while.

ce

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

I did my first TTVs yesterday - two that form the lower few miles of the River Don. It was a lovely day, very crisp and clear, and there was a good selection of stuff including quite a few Goosander and Goldeneye on the river and a nice flock of Sanderling at the mouth. The rarest bird in a local sense was a Little Grebe on the river in Seaton park - the first I think I've ever seen there.

 

[Andrew]

Finally did SS91K south of Tiverton properly for two hours. Nothing spectacular though but highly enjoyable. The Exe was a lot higher than last time and copnsequently there were no Dippers or Goosanders.

There was one low point. With five minutes left I diverted uphill to a farm to avoid covering old ground. Went round the back across a 'large puddle' trying to work out where the footpath was supposed to go. It was a dead end so I jumped back across the aforementioned 'puddle' aiming to land on a tussock. It wasn't a puddle but a slurry pit!

Leg went in right up to my knee!

 

[Surreybirder]

Bad luck, Andrew! I've twice ended up knee-deep in our nearst pond (slippery).
I see that the results summary now says:
Results so far... 5.5 million birds of 327 species (inc escapees and races)
That's very impressive. I've been birding for c30 years in the UK and still haven't reached 300 species (I'm not much of a twitcher). I didn't realise that so many species were in the UK at one time.
Ken

 

[james d]

I did my first TTVs yesterday - two that form the lower few miles of the River Don. It was a lovely day, very crisp and clear, and there was a good selection of stuff including quite a few Goosander and Goldeneye on the river and a nice flock of Sanderling at the mouth. The rarest bird in a local sense was a Little Grebe on the river in Seaton park - the first I think I've ever seen there.

Andrew

I had a walk along that very stretch one lunchtime last week (I work close to Seaton park). Highlight then was seeing the Kingfisher near the Brig o Balgownie - only the third time in many, many hours of walking that beat.

 

[ColinD]

Bad luck, Andrew! I've twice ended up knee-deep in our nearst pond (slippery).
I see that the results summary now says:
Results so far... 5.5 million birds of 327 species (inc escapees and races)
That's very impressive. I've been birding for c30 years in the UK and still haven't reached 300 species (I'm not much of a twitcher). I didn't realise that so many species were in the UK at one time.
Ken

Surely that must be wrong. The atlas only started in November didn't it? 5.5 million records is impressive enough, but 327 species in the UK in November doesn't seem right. Imagine how many it will be in a years time, with all of the spring migrants and summer visitors included!

 

[JimMorris]

I know this might sound a bit stupid but can someone explain what this atlas is all about and how it works. I presume that it is some kind of survey. If so where do I find out more. Thanks.
Jim.

 

[Stewart J.]

Link here Jim :- http://www.bto.org/birdatlas/

Stewart

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Andrew

I had a walk along that very stretch one lunchtime last week (I work close to Seaton park). Highlight then was seeing the Kingfisher near the Brig o Balgownie - only the third time in many, many hours of walking that beat.

Hi James - well done on the Kingfisher. I was hoping to get one on the count but didn't manage to. Didn't get Dipper either. Both ones to look for on roving reports. I've sometimes seen Kingfishers quite well down the river in Seaton Park in winter.

 

[edenwatcher]

Did my first TTV on Sunday - a stretch of the Eden downstream of the house. A good range of stuff including 5 greenshanks, 217 black-tailed godwits and 4 long-tailed duck. I'm not sure I want to see another dunlin, having counted over 1300 of the blighters ...

Rob

 

[Ilya Maclean]

Coigash - apologies you found the instructions on the website unclear, these are intended only as a brief guide, with full instructions on the downloadable pdf. However, I have requested that they are altered on the website.

Unfortunately, the correct thing to do would be to submit your timed counts as roving records and redo your timed count. One of the purposes of the second hour is to compare the number of additional species recorded by applying additional effort. It thus defeats the purpose of doing the second hour if counts are split in two.

BTW - 327 (now 328) species is correct. However, note it includes species and races etc. For example, Brent Goose could be recorded as either (1) Brent Goose, (2) Brent Goose (Dark-bellied), (3) Brent Goose (Light-bellied) or (4) Brent Goose (Black Brant)

Ilya (BTO staff)

 

[ColinD]

Coigash - apologies you found the instructions on the website unclear, these are intended only as a brief guide, with full instructions on the downloadable pdf. However, I have requested that they are altered on the website.

Good. Since I made my initial enquiry, I've heard from a number of people who came to the same conclusion as me, yet only a couple have publically confessed to it. With 5.5 million records already entered, I just wonder how many people have realised their mistake when they came to enter the form and have "massaged" their records to fit rather than own up and start again.

Unfortunately, the correct thing to do would be to submit your timed counts as roving records and redo your timed count. One of the purposes of the second hour is to compare the number of additional species recorded by applying additional effort. It thus defeats the purpose of doing the second hour if counts are split in two.

No problem, I was expecting to have to start again, though I'll probably stick to an hour from now on!

BTW - 327 (now 328) species is correct. However, note it includes species and races etc. For example, Brent Goose could be recorded as either (1) Brent Goose, (2) Brent Goose (Dark-bellied), (3) Brent Goose (Light-bellied) or (4) Brent Goose (Black Brant)

Still an amazing figure with only one month gone. I'll be interested to see the final total.

 

[Mike Cook]

Coastal tetrads

Just finished two 'mini' tetrads. They are coastal, with the centre of the tetrad being below low water mark. As such, a TTV is not needed for the national atlas (see FAQs on the atlas web site) but I'm doing one hour TTVs anyway for our local atlas.

If you consider all the coastal tetrads, then presumably about half of them will have their centre below low water mark and birds will not be counted on TTVs; just species identified on roving records. This won't matter for birds occurring inland as well as at the coast, but waders, which are concentrated in coastal tetrads in winter, will be seriously underestimated.

It is possible but unlikely that in a 10km square with coast running north-south or east-west, no counts will take place at all on the coastal tetrads as all centres will be below low water mark.

If anyone from BTO is monitoring this thread, please reassure me that my logic is screwed up and that we are not seriously underestimating wader counts in winter.:-C

Mike

 

[Alan G]

I recently signed up for some of this TTV atlas action and was pleased to find my local haunts taken up as it's going inspire me to get out and explore an area thats relatively new to me.

There seems to be some confusion around record methods though and it'll be a barrell of laughs counting those gull flocks devoid of non-adults?

 

[Mike Cook]

If you consider all the coastal tetrads, then presumably about half of them will have their centre below low water mark and birds will not be counted on TTVs; just species identified on roving records. This won't matter for birds occurring inland as well as at the coast, but waders, which are concentrated in coastal tetrads in winter, will be seriously underestimated.
Mike

Commenting on my own post is probably frowned upon but who cares!

I looked at the 72 coastal tetrads on the Northumberland and found that 35 of them (49%) have their centre below mean low water and, by the BTO criteria, would not receive a TTV.

Very roughly, I also estimated that this would mean that 51 km of the 140 km of coastline (37%) would not get a TTV.

This obviously does not make a difference to counties like Northumberland doing TTVs on all tetrads for a local atlas. In other areas it could lead to a 40% underestimate in winter waders.:eek!:

Mike