C O N T E N TS
COVER PHOTOGRAPHS: ANDY MUSGROVE/JOHN MATKIN/Northeastwildlife.co.uk/DAVID TIPLING davidtipling.com CONTENTS: JILL PAKENHAM/JOHN HARDING/STEVEN ROUND stevenround-birdphotography.co.uk/Northeastwildlife.co.uk/MELANIE EVANS
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Welcome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
More than birds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Stories from the web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Another year of successful birdwatching.
From bumblebees to Brown Hares; working
Ringing provides insights into the lives of
with others to make full use of all your wildlife
individual birds.
Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Woodcock Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Introducing a special new survey of this secretive woodland wader.
Looking out for upland birds . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Take to the hills in Wales and Scotland this summer.
New maps from BBS results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Records from Breeding Bird Survey volunteers turn into fascinating maps.
observations.
Mystery Mallards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Much-maligned habitat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Our most familiar duck still has secrets to
Learning to value your own personal scrubby
reveal, especially during the winter.
corner of the UK.
A new arrival . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Every map in Bird Atlas 2007–11 tells a new story about the birds of Britain & Ireland.
Following migrants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 How BirdTrack can help us to appreciate the dynamic nature of migration.
Developing your skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
What has the BTO got for me? . . . . . . . . . 14
Brushing up on nest recording skills, ready for
A younger member’s view.
a busy retirement.
THE BRITISH TRUST FOR ORNITHOLOGY
CONTACT US BTO, The Nunnery, Thetford, Norfolk IP24 2PU Telephone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01842 750050 Facsimile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01842 750030 E-mail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . btonews@bto.org Web site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.bto.org BTO Scotland, School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Cottrell Building, University of Stirling, FK9 4LA Telephone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01786 466560 Facsimile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01786 466561 E-mail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . scotinfo@bto.org BTO Cymru, Thoday Building, Deiniol Rd, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2UW Telephone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01248 383285 E-mail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . kelvin.jones@bto.org The BTO promotes and encourages the wider understanding, appreciation and conservation of birds. Registered Charity no. 216652 (England & Wales) no. SC039193 (Scotland)
2 013 | BTO Volunteer Magazine
ISSN 0005 – 3392
Patron HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, KG, KT President Baroness Young of Old Scone Chairman Ian Newton Honorary Secretary Neil Bucknell Honorary Treasurer John Osmond BTO VOLUNTEER MAGAZINE JNCC — All references to JNCC in Volunteer refer to the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, which is the statutory adviser to Government on UK and international nature conservation, on behalf of the Council for Nature Conservation and the Countryside, the Countryside Council for Wales, Natural England and Scottish Natural Heritage. Editors Ieuan Evans and Su Gough Layout, design, imagesetting and typesetting O’Connor Design Consultants
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When you have finished with this magazine, pass it to a friend or recycle it.
The views expressed by the contributors to this magazine are not necessarily those of the Editors, the Council of the BTO or its committees. The Editors welcomes any articles on birds. © BTO 2013. Quotations should carry a full acknowledgement.
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