Breeding Atlas update - urgent

Breeding Atlas Update - 20th August 2008

The final season of fieldwork for the breeding atlas has been a huge success, with many gaps filled and hundreds of breeding records added to the database. All that remains now is to finish compiling the records so that analysis of them may begin. So, if you have any breeding records please send them in as soon as possible. Please bring completed tetrad forms or record slips to the indoor metting in September. A blank tetrad form can be found here. Alternatively, completed tetrad forms can be sent by post to David Wood, 23 Crimicar Drive, SHEFFIELD, S10 4EF or emailed to sbsgsightings@googlemail.com. All 'casual' breeding records for 2008 will also gladly be included, and can be submitted via the recent news page or emailed to sbsgsightings@googlemail.com.

All data from tetrad forms and casual breeding records have now been collated for the period 2003-2007, an impressive 19,300 records!  A big thank you for everyone who has sent in breeding bird information over the past few years, and now we just have one final plea for help!

Whilst most areas have been comprehensively surveyed and re-visiting these would be unlikely to lead to any new information, some gaps remain in other areas.

We have created ‘species wanted’ lists for tetrads that may have been under-recorded. For each tetrad, species are listed that have historically been recorded to be breeding in this area, but have not been recorded breeding during the period of this survey. Species in blue are those most likely to be present, whilst others listed in black could still possibly be present in these tetrads. We’d like to fill in these gaps order to get as complete a picture as possible of the breeding birds of Sheffield.

Going out birding? Please look at the map below, which shows in red the tetrads most in need of checking.  Note the codes (e.g. SK28u) of one or more of these tetrads and click on the matching link (SK28) in the small table.  This will show you list of birds not recorded for your selected tetrads; please look out for them and, most importantly, submit your records when you get home.  Also listed are birds 'missing' from less crucial tetrads, please also cover any of these if you can.  Each list also includes a link which allows you to view and print a map of any tetrad to make your visit easier. 

Have you surveyed a tetrad and not returned the survey form? Please return it by the usual method 

Have we made a mistake? If you’ve sent in a record or recorded for the survey a species which appears here as missing please let us know.

Please send in any breeding records as soon as possible, by e-mail to sbsgsightings@googlemail.com with the subject ‘ATLAS’. We will update the lists below regularly as records are sent in. The aim is for these lists to shorten and by the end of the breeding season to represent genuine declines in breeding birds, rather than missing records of species that are actually present.

As a reminder, here’s a list of behaviour to look out for to demonstrate breeding:

P = Present in suitable breeding habitat on more than one visit during breeding season.
S = Singing/displaying male in suitable breeding site.
C = A pair in suitable habitat showing courtship or territorial behaviour.
N = Bird visiting probable nest site; nest building; anxiety calls; recently used nest.
F = Adult carrying food (beware male feeding female) or faecal sac.
E = Adult sitting on nest; nest with eggs/young; egg shells found away from nest.
Y = Recently fledged young.

The categories in bold confirm breeding, so records of these behaviours are preferable to those in italics, which indicate species are probably breeding. These records, in turn, are preferable to a record of a bird present in an area at this time of year, which just indicates they might be breeding here. 

Click on these links to find target species lists for the tetrads you plan to visit.

The tetrad squares marked below in red are priorities to visit. There are, however, other tetrads that may also benefit from an additional visit. Click on the links in the box below to see the potential missing species lists for all areas.