SOS – Countywide survey in 60 tetrads

Volunteers needed – can you help?

Two morning visits in May/June and June/July.

The Turtle Dove is one of the most rapidly declining species in UK and elsewhere in northern Europe, we want to find out how it is faring in Sussex.

The objective of this project is to look for changes in the distribution of Turtle Doves in Sussex over the last decade by re-surveying a sample of tetrads which held breeding birds during the 2008-11 Sussex Atlas.

The atlas simply recorded presence and the breeding status in each tetrad. To arrive at an estimate of the numbers of breeding Turtle Doves in the county we will map and count the ‘purring’ males within the randomly selected tetrads.

Survey method

We have selected at random 60 tetrads occupied by Turtle Doves in the 2008-11 Atlas.

We are asking volunteers to choose a tetrad and make two visits to check out all the suitable habitat as closely as possible. The first visit between May 11 and June 20 and the second visit between June 21 and July 24. Visits should be in the early morning (between first light and 09.00) in good weather conditions. We will provide 1:25,000 maps of your chosen tetrad.

If you are interested, please contact the survey organiser Ken Smith.

Full details of the background to the project, survey methods, tetrads selected and Ken’s contact details can be viewed and downloaded here