Surveying Birds in Open Habitats near Proposed Woodland Creation Schemes: What is the Effect of Having Fewer Visits?

Borthwick, Murray D.; Kerslake, Lisa; Findlay, Mel; Briers, Robert A.; Tomlin, Chris; Riddle, Neil; White, Patrick J.C.

Abstract

In relation to new woodland creation in England, the Forestry Commission (FC) may require breeding bird surveys of proposed sites to assess suitability for planting or natural colonisation. Previous protocols required six visits, but we wanted to test the impact of reducing the number of visits to save resources without substantial loss of information. To simulate the impact of reduced survey visits and specific timings as per new FC guidance, existing survey data from breeding bird reports at woodland creation sites in England fromb2021 and 2022 were analysed, using as metrics (1) species richness and (2) territory density of two wader species of conservation concern – curlew and lapwing – which are particularly susceptible to impacts of afforestation. Our results suggest that the proposed change in survey methods from six to four visits would have a relatively minor impact on species richness relative to the reduction in survey effort, but the change in breeding territory densities would be more substantial, though would not usually have implications for
decision-making.

Citation

Borthwick, M. D., Kerslake, L., Findlay, M., Briers, R. A., Tomlin, C., Riddle, N., & White, P. J. (2024). Surveying Birds in Open Habitats near Proposed Woodland Creation Schemes: What is the Effect of Having Fewer Visits?. In Practice (CIEEM), 124, 32-37

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 26, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Jun 6, 2024
• Publication Date: Jun 6, 2024
• Deposit Date: Jun 6, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 7, 2024
• Journal: In Practice Magazine
• Print ISSN: 1754-4883
• Publisher: Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 124
• Pages: 32-37
• Keywords: afforestation; evidence-based practice; survey methods; wading birds; woodland creation
• Publisher URL: https://cieem.net/i-am/in-practice/