Bird Survey

Photograph taken by M Bosworth

Overview

Mowsley residents have taken part in a year long survey of the wild birds visiting the parish.

Enthusiasm for the survey was immediately evident on its suggestion by the Mowsley Heritage Society; from the people who work or walk in and around the village, from those who maintain wild bird feeding stations in their garden, and from those who simply watch birds through their window.

In organising the survey special attention was given to making it accessible to as many people as possible. It was thought that whilst input from experienced bird watchers is the most valuable, taking observations from a wider community with less expertise would be desirable as long as the results were not compromised significantly.

Sightings were gathered via a list of the most common bird species provided as a tick sheet to participating households for each calendar month between April 2008 and March 2009. Households were encouraged to download blank tick-sheets from the Mowsley Village Web Site, although some were hand-delivered to those with no access to the internet. Completed sheets were collected and the information recorded into a database.

Species would be ticked once they had been spotted somewhere in Mowsley parish by a resident during that calendar month. No attempt was made to record the number of birds or the frequency of sightings, nor the time of day, weather conditions etc., merely the presence of that species of wild bird in the parish during that calendar month. The only concession to gathering extra information was a request to residents to note those species they saw only in the countryside surrounding the village.

A core of 12 households participated regularly in the survey, but others joined in when it suited them. 25% of households in Mowsley parish contributed to the bird survey for at least one month.

Generally at least 45 species were confirmed each month, and more than 60 overall by the end of the year. Many residents expressed a heightened interest in watching the birds in and around their gardens, and some declared that they had installed or upgraded wild bird feeding stations in their gardens as a result of taking part in the survey.

A presentation of the survey and the results so obtained was given by Fiona Kinnear in April 2009, under the auspices of the Mowsley Heritage Society. More than 40 villagers attended.

The Holly Hayes Environment and Heritage Resources Centre in Birstall were interested in the Mowsley Bird Survey as a community activity. An article was published in the Spring 2009 edition of their in-house magazine Branchline.

Photograph taken by M Bosworth

Results

Photograph taken by J Lacey

Archive of Monthly Observations

Photograph taken by M Bosworth

Plans for the future

Owing to the significant success of the Bird Survey in capturing the interest of Mowsley residents, it is hoped that it can be repeated in a few years time. The comparison of data gathered over time can be a valuable tool in highlighting changes in our environment.

Photograph taken by M Bosworth