TROWBRIDGE WOODS SSSI BREEDING BIRD SURVEYS

Client

Natural England

Services

Breeding Bird Survey and Analysis

The Brief

To establish whether the woodland and scrub breeding bird assemblages at Picket and Clangers Wood SSSI together with nearby new areas of woodland and scrub under consideration for SSSI designation, meet the revised Guidelines for the Selection of SSSIs. Undertake breeding bird surveys to determine the breeding status of target woodland and scrub bird species in the survey area.

 

Our Role

• Undertake 10 survey visits spread across the breeding bird period, eight dawn visits and 2 dusk visits for species such as woodcock and tawny owl.
• Use Common Bird Census (CBC) methodology.
• Design transect routes to ensure sufficient coverage of the area, ensure coverage within 50m of all areas of the woodlands as a basis and ensure that sufficient effort is employed to provide a high degree of confidence in the data.
• Deploy 2 Song Meter+ automated recording devices in addition to the original survey scope to increase the survey effort focussing on woodcock, nightingale and owl species.

The Outcome

All surveys were completed on time and the final report on territory analysis was submitted to Natural England in December 2021, detailing 111 target species territories.