In lands inhabited by elusive critters such as Lynx, Brown Bear and Flying Squirrel, I have decided to do a 'Big Year' in the three Baltic States (Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia), the overly optimistic target being to see somewhere near 50 species by the year's end.
For any hope of getting anywhere even close to the 50 mark, considerable luck and effort will be required, the four main groups that are going to cause headaches being:
1. The elusive big ones - Brown Bear, Wolf and European Lynx, all present in very low densities and generally almost impossible to see.
2. Highly localised ones - Flying Squirrel, Ringed Seal, European Mink etc. Need stake outs or luck, only the seal is realistically likely, maybe the squirrel.
3. The small stuff - all the rodents and insectivores - basically needs life trapping, no idea how easy it will be to find most.
4. Bats - hmm, think I need to buy a bat detector!
So, in reality, I think rising above 30 is going to be hit and miss, but it's going to be fun trying!
For any hope of getting anywhere even close to the 50 mark, considerable luck and effort will be required, the four main groups that are going to cause headaches being:
1. The elusive big ones - Brown Bear, Wolf and European Lynx, all present in very low densities and generally almost impossible to see.
2. Highly localised ones - Flying Squirrel, Ringed Seal, European Mink etc. Need stake outs or luck, only the seal is realistically likely, maybe the squirrel.
3. The small stuff - all the rodents and insectivores - basically needs life trapping, no idea how easy it will be to find most.
4. Bats - hmm, think I need to buy a bat detector!
So, in reality, I think rising above 30 is going to be hit and miss, but it's going to be fun trying!