Possibly of interest. Note the items on reporting colour-ringed birds and
sending records to the Targeting Project. As a nature reserve warden I have
tried in the past to get local birdwathchers to let me add their sightings
on the reserve to its central records. In some cases this has failed and it
seems that some birdwatchers want to keep their records to themselves.
Anyone any comments on this?

Phil



----- Original Message -----
From: "BirdTrack" <birdtrack@...>
To: <phil@...>
Sent: Monday, March 05, 2007 11:07 AM
Subject: BirdTrack February update


Dear BirdTrack recorder

As we head into March, the first few migrants of the year are starting to
trickle into the country. Already we have had several reports of Sand Martin
and Swallow, and also single Wheatear and Osprey in Wales. The few early
reports of Sandwich Tern though could well just relate to wintering birds
starting to wander. At least three have spent the winter along the south
coast, but this pales into insignificance compared to the 91 that wintered
in Normandie, France. Other 'summer visitors' spending the winter with us
include a Garden Warbler in Lincolnshire and a Lesser Whitethroat in
Cornwall, but in both cases these are probably birds from eastern
populations (of the races woodwardi and halimodendri respectively).

February has also seen many of our winter visitors starting to think about
heading back to breed. I'm sure we all wonder where some of these birds are
heading back to, and often we can often only guess. Just recently though I
was lucky enough to see a Brent Goose in Norfolk and was able to find an
answer to this question. This particular bird was colour-ringed, and I now
know that it was first caught as a moulting bird in 1995 on the Taimyr
Peninsula in Arctic Russia, and has since been seen in Jersey, Denmark,
Germany and Norfolk! So don't forget when you're out birdwatching that if
you do see any colour-ringed birds, report them online at www.ring.ac

Further evidence of spring is in the form of small flocks of passerines now
building up. In amongst the commoner species, it is often possible to find a
scarcer species. So check your coastal flocks of Linnets for Twite, and your
inland flocks of Reed Buntings for Little Bunting.

See the trends for Linnet at:
http://blx1.bto.org/bt-dailyresults/results/s473-20-07.html
and Reed Bunting at:
http://blx1.bto.org/bt-dailyresults/results/s524-20-07.html

Last but not least, you may be interested in how your sightings are
contributing to the Bird Conservation Targeting Project. This is an exciting
joint project between Natural England, RSPB, BTO and Forestry Commission
England, and collects bird records from many sources, including BirdTrack.
The project identifies important sites for key farmland and woodland species
by mapping their distributions, which can influence how grant payments are
distributed. This is a good example of how your sightings can contribute
directly to the conservation of species, and its great to be able to be part
of this - so keep those records coming in! We have recently updated a page
on the website explaining the project in more detail and showing some
summary maps at:
http://www.bto.org/birdtrack/bird_recording/bctp/index.htm

Once again thanks for your continued support, and let's see what the spring
brings!

With kind regards

Mark Grantham
On behalf of the BirdTrack Team

Your User ID: PGLUKE1