Counting on Birds
Bird Watching in Estremadura, Spain
I’ve just finished reading Martin Kelsey’s series of three blogs: Big Year 2022. They describe how he undertook to beat his own birding record of the number of species sighted in Extremadura in Spain … beautifully written, evocative, and making a phenomenally skillful task sound almost easy.
https://www.birdingextremadurablog.com/
Of course, Martin did beat his own record, and the record for sightings in Estremadura: “ … 266 for my Year List and a first for Extremadura …”.
Martin is a professional ornithologist and knows Estremadura intimately. Anyone who has had the privilege of birding with him will know just how valuable it is to spend a little time with him in the field listening and learning.
Systematic Bird Observation
Martin’s blogs also brought to mind the current discussion about the value of systematic bird observation – its value and importance to our understanding of the ecological crisis that is affecting our world at large, and our own particular homelands.
The British Trust for Ornithology and Citizen Science
The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) is an organisation built on a large and active membership of observers who undertake various types of systematic observation. The data is fed back to the professional observers and statisticians for analysis of trends and developments in British bird populations. The BTO’s data now covers 80 years of Citizen Science in action.
A recent article by Philipp Boersch-Supan, BTO Senior Statistician, makes a number of important points about the value of these records.1.
At its broadest level, birdwatching and data recording continues to be an extremely popular activity, and more is known about birds and the dynamics of bird populations than any other form of natural history … “even though birds represent < 1% of known species.” The scientific interpretation of this data can act as a litmus paper to the health of our ecosystems.
As a statistician, Boersch-Supan stresses the importance of rigour in the use of scientific methodologies and interpretation of data, but does not dismiss the importance of the recording of casual observations. He says it is up to stataticians to utilise these with care, and combine the different sorts of data to “… improve population estimates and trends”.
Interest in the natural world should be encouraged in every possible way, whether that is through participation in the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch, or through submitting casual observations to the BirdTrack database.
Remember also, if the 1 million plus members of the RSPB sign a pro-nature petition to our government on some issue, that is a very powerful and meaningful voice for nature.
The Voluntariado Del Río Arlanzón
This volunteer group has undertaken a monthly census of bird life on the River Arlanzón over the last five years. They survey a 5 km stretch that runs through the ancient city of Burgos in northern Spain.
The River Arlanzón rises in the Sierra de La Demanda to the north east of Burgos, and runs through the city, forming an important recreational area, with paths and parkland along its banks. The fact that otters have been recently seen along this stretch attests to its water quality.
Martin Crill lives in Burgos, and has been a member of the volantariado for a number of years. He started to send us the occasional photograph and monthly count result which sparked our interest in the group and the obvious enthusiasm and dedication of its members.
What was striking about the results was the sheer number and variety of birds seen. To date, 109 species have been seen along the 5 km stretch, and each month usually accounts for more than 1,000 individual birds.
Although the website is written in Spanish, the page that lists the running total of species seen is in both Spanish and English … it makes an impressive list!. https://avesdelrioarlanzonespana.website/aves-vistas-durante-el-proyecto/
The monthly data is regularly compiled and sent to eBird and contributes to this important global database.
But locally the group’s activities seem to have had little publicity. Hence, we developed the site for the benefit of the local people and visitors who use the facility of the parks, but are perhaps less aware of the rich variety of birdlife that lives within it.
Comparative data
The 5 km stretch provides an interesting concentration of species, and compares well with Martin Kelsey’s observations which took in a much wider area and a greater variety of habitats.
Photographs
All photographs in this blog are courtesy of the voluntariado photographers – the site has a selection of photographs spanning the years. https://avesdelrioarlanzonespana.website/una-seleccion-de-fotogrfias-una-seleccion-de-fotografias-del-arlanzon/