Winter Bird Survey

Towards the end of last year I received an email from the BTO asking if I would be interested in covering a 1km square for their English Winter Bird Survey (WINBS). The aim of if which is to see how winter birds and brown hares are benefiting from the habitat management options within the agri-environmental schemes.

I agreed and ended up with a square not too far from home between Stanhoe and Burnham Market. I was able to contact some of the landowners who allowed access to their land but one of the transect routes couldn't be completed as I couldn't get the access permissions required but that may be possible before the next survey.

The habitat within the square was to be expected from agricultural Norfolk, heavily flailed hedges, cultivated right up to the hedges and mainly autumn sown cereal crops. There is a bit of respite from the agricultural gloom as one of the landowners was doing some good for wildlife. His hedges were nice and thick with wide flower-rich margins running alongside them, better than nothing.

Bird-wise, the visit was very quiet with the highlights being a flock of ca100 linnets over one of the stubble fields and a woodcock flushed from a roadside hedge. No other finches, sparrows, yellowhammers and only 1 hare 😠

Hopefully there will be more in February...