important benchmark for future being missed out
Common species being left out of isles bird record
Published:
Common species are being overlooked in the recording of bird life in the Western Isles, according to the Outer Hebrides Bird Group (OHBG).
The group has urged isles residents to keep an eye on their gardens and report to them sightings of more common birds, such as buzzards, lapwings and plovers.
OHGB has just released the latest Outer Hebrides Bird Report, based on their 2005/06 findings, and say that observers tend to concentrate on notifying sightings of species rare to the islands.
Uist local bird recorder Brian Rabbitts, editor of the tenth OHGB report since 1990, says noting the numbers and behaviour of common birds creates an important benchmark for future bird monitoring.
He said: “Whether we give an accurate picture of all the bird life on the islands is a hit or a miss, but we would invite anyone who can spot the common species to let us know what they are seeing around them, and also to describe the bird behaviour they are observing.”
The new report features illustrations by Uist artists Bill Neill and Sandra Klassen, and about 30 photographs taken by locals and visitors.
Some 170 observers across the islands, including many visitors, have contributed their sightings for compilation by the seven-strong OHBG team of experts.
The report also includes detailed accounts by those who spotted species new to the islands in 2005/06, including a Wilson’s phalarope, Pallas’s warbler, olive-backed pipit, pine bunting and Isabelline shrike.
Mr Rabbitts said that increased tree-planting has been an important factor in encouraging a growth in woodland species like robins, gold crests and dunnocks, and these have in turn encouraged an increase in raptors like sparrow hawks.
Numbers of the iconic corncrake remain roughly stable at around 483, he said.
The report should be released by the end of this year. Future reports will also include recordings of moths, butterflies, dragonflies, damsel flies and cetaceans.
