Bird Tracking in Essex
Graham Smith 48 The Meads, Ingatestone, Essex. CM4 0AE
Bird Track is an on line recording system jointly devised by the BTO and RSPB as a
follow up to their hugely successful Migration Watch, which ran between 2002 and
2004. Birdwatchers from all over the country record observations from a site (or sites)
of their own choosing, which they register on Bird Track. These can be as large as a
nature reserve or as small as the local churchyard or their own gardens. At its most basic
level the number of species seen on each visit is all that is required but counts of as
many species as possible obviously adds to the value of the data. This can be used to
track the progress of spring and autumn migrants, which are plotted on on-line maps,
but in the longer term can also - by recording additional information on breeding suc-
cess - be used to follow the fortunes of both resident birds and summer visitors.
The appeal of this recording system to an old time birdwatcher like myself is that it
harks back to the "good old days" of BTO surveys when you simply went out and re-
corded as many Nightingales, Rooks, Corn Buntings or other species as you could find
in a 1km square or tetrad. Great fun. Nowadays, the surveys are more sophisticated. The
BTO computer picks the selected survey area at random (I was once asked to survey
Chelmsford High Street for Corn Buntings!) and counting revolves around line transects,
spot checks and similar methods which are designed to entrance the statistical accuracy
of the results countrywide. As much as I can appreciate the scientific basis for these
changes it is still a pleasure to be able to revert to old habits and since I retired last
August the time has become available to do so.
One of my sites encompasses two farms at Ingatestone, namely, Harding's and Handley
Barns. The former is what is often referred to as a "Hobby Farm" and the land consists
entirely on long term set aside grassland while part of the latter has been converted into
a private fishery, comprising one large lake and several ponds. The rest of the farm is
rented out as horse pasture. The route also skirts Dawes and Handley Green Farms, the
margins of the arable fields on which have been planted with eight metre strips of clover
and grass. From here there is a fine view across the valley to the ridge occupied by
Writtle Park and its woodlands. Closer to hand there are two small ancient coppices -
Box and Well Woods - another wood - The Grove - which was planted in the 17th cen-
tury, and a small section of Mill Green Common, at one time wood pasture, then heathland,
now secondary woodland. In addition to the fishery there are also a number of small
ponds at Harding's Farm, much frequented by Mandarin Ducks.
It is an area that I have walked on a regular basis for over forty years and although I
always made a note of anything unusual 1 never previously had time to count the com-
moner birds. I was aware, of course, that the number of "commoner birds" on both
farmland and in woodland had shrunk alarmingly over the years but, even so, the extent
Essex Field Club Newsletter No. 53, May 2007
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