To help preserve our wildlife we need to know what we are preserving. Without data all conservation, is just a stab in the dark.
How can you help collect this valuable data about our wildlife and countryside? Well you could go to university, study hard, pass the exams. Get a job, apply for a research grant and study your chosen subject for a couple of years. Write a paper on your area of study and get it published in a scientific journal.
One the other hand if you already have a day job. All is not lost. You can still make a contribution. You may not be up for a Nobel prize, but you will have helped.
Two surveys that are based on the birds we see in our gardens and parks are taking place right now. Without your contribution they are not going to happen. One is run by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) the other by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO).
The RSPB “Big Garden Birdwatch” https://ww2.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/discoverandlearn/birdwatch/ is taking place over the weekend of the 30-31 January 2016; all that is required is an hour of your time over the weekend. Count the birds you see in your garden or local park and report back to the RSPB what you saw. This information is collected each year and allows the RSPB to monitor and estimate the numbers and species of birds across the country.
If you can’t spare and hour then the; BTO survey is for you. All you need is to observe how many Goldfinches you see in 2 minutes. This survey is running until February 2016 http://www.bto.org/goldfinch-survey .
Both these surveys need our support. You will be helping these organisations understand the current populations of birds and the rise and fall of particular species numbers. With this information these organisations can put in place plans that will help with the conservation of our countryside.
Get your white coat out of the cupboard and become an assistant for the day, you know you want to.
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