OOS Second Atlas Project 2004-2010
The Oxford Ornithological Society together with its partner the Banbury Ornithological Society is producing a County atlas at the tetrad (2km x 2km) scale. In part, this will be a repeat of the 1984-88 survey which resulted in the well known publication co-authored by Andy Heryet, John Brucker and Andy Gosler. In addition a winter tetrad survey is underway. The project coincides with the British Trust for Ornithology's 2007 - 2011 Atlas. A data sharing agreement is in place. Our neighbours in Bucks, Berks, Wilts and Gloucestershire are engaged in similar surveys.
A good start has been made but some areas of the county are covered
less well than others as the provisional winter distribution map for
Dunnock
shows. With your
enthusiastic support these and other gaps can be filled to provide
a status report on our birds. Part of the joy of atlas fieldwork is
unexpected discoveries in new areas. If you are not already involved,
contact me or visit www.birdatlas.net where you can learn more about
the project. Encourage your birdwatching friends to join the survey
team.
After two winters the provisional results appear
to provide reliable distributions for many species.
Amongst the remarkable recent changes is the spread of Ravens
- not long ago a rare bird.
Some maps are less reliable and we will need your help, for example
in locating Tawny Owls
.
You can obtain a current species list for any tetrad at www.birdatlas.net which will
show which of your records add value to the database.
John Melling, Organiser