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Lancashire’s Bird Clubs, BTO Regional Organisers and the Lancashire & Cheshire Fauna Society (which produced the 1997-2000 Lancashire Breeding Bird Atlas and publishes the annual county bird reports) have come together to organise comprehensive surveys of the county’s breeding and wintering birds. This will take place alongside the national surveys organised by the BTO and will add significantly to these. The BTO and LCFS have signed a memorandum of understanding, agreeing to cooperate fully in carrying out these surveys and to share all records.At least 25 other counties are taking the opportunity to carry out full surveys of their area.The surveys aim to:

Map the breeding and wintering distribution of all species

Map the relative abundance of species between different areas

Produce population estimates

Note changes in breeding populations and distribution in Lancashire & North Merseyside since the 1997-2000 survey.

The main difference between the national and local surveys is that the BTO will map distribution and abundance at the scale of 10km squares, while in Lancashire this will be done at the tetrad (2km) level.This means that the BTO requires only a minimum of 8 tetrads in each 10km square to be surveyed during the 4-year survey period, while we are hoping to survey every tetrad in Lancashire. This will enable us to make close comparisons with the 1997-2000 breeding survey and to map the winter distribution of species within the county for the first time. For further information contact the Lancashire survey organisers:

Bob Harris (BTO) harris@liverpool.ac.uk

Steve White (LCFS) Stephen.white2@tesco.net

Or visit the BTO Atlas Website at www.bto.org.uk/birdatlas

Click here for the Instructions for the Lancashire Survey