Welcome to the latest newsletter of this exciting initiative - I hope that you find its contents of interest. I am pleased to report that the Breeding Bird Survey is going well - a big "Thank you" to everyone who has contributed records over the last three years. If you have not done so yet, it is not too late to send in records for any year from 1998, or to volunteer to survey an area this year. Please do get involved if you can.
Over 200 tetrads (2km x 2km squares) cover Birmingham and The Black Country, although for those that overlap the edge only that part within the area is included in the survey. The table below lists the numbers of records received so far, of species recorded and of tetrads surveyed.
| Spring 2003 | Spring 2002 | Spring 2001 | Spring 2000 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total number of unique records | 7,447 | 7,034 | 5,741 | 3,817 |
| Total number of breeding records | 4,417 | 4,051 | 3,164 | 1,745 |
| Number of tetrads surveyed | 196 | 193 | 180 | 144 |
| Average number of species per surveyed tetrad | 38.0 | 36.5 | 31.9 | 26.5 |
| Average number of breeding species per surveyed tetrad | 22.5 | 21 | 17.6 | 12.1 |
Over 110 species have been recorded during the survey, more than 90 of which have bred, e.g. Buzzard, Peregrine, Water Rail, Lapwing, Common Snipe, Herring Gull, Common Tern, Long-eared Owl, Barn Owl, Stonechat and Black Redstart.
The most widespread species include Wood Pigeon, Wren, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Starling and House Sparrow, all recorded in at least 90% of the surveyed tetrads.
Kevin Clements
Maps.