Monitoring Merthyr’s Raven Roost

One day in 2000, local naturalist Mark Evans, unexpectedly spotted fifty or so Ravens emerge from a conifer stand he was walking through. Intrigued, he returned a few days later to confirm his theory that these birds were roosting in the area.

Since that first encounter, he has returned each month to count the birds, building a body of evidence showing how this roost fluctuates in numbers through the year and changed over the decade.

Read more about Mark and ‘his Ravens’ at Counting Crows.

Corvus corax / Corvo imperiale by quelea1945, on Flickr

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Not Too Late to Contribute to Roosting Survey

The BTO’s Roosting Survey has been collecting fascinating records all winter and will draw to a close at the end of February.

Taking part is easy and great fun: participants choose one evening to see if, and how many, birds use a nest box, roosting pouch, or other cavity in their garden for a kip. Observations can be made using a nest box camera, by eye at dusk or dawn, or by counting bird droppings in a nest box on the afternoon before and the morning after the chosen evening. With dusk still descending quite early, the Roosting Survey can be fun for the whole family.

For more information and to take part visit: www.bto.org/gbw.

Any queries, please contact the Garden Ecology Team:

Roosting Survey, GBW, BTO, The Nunnery, Thetford, Norfolk, IP24 2PU
email: gbw@bto.org, telephone: 01842 750050

New Roosting Survey Launched

Blue tit exiting box by Neillys75, on Flickr

BTO has this week launched a new survey aimed at finding out which species roost in garden nest boxes and roosting pouches during winter.

Help the BTO to find out by taking part in the Roosting Survey.

It is quick, simple and it is great fun to find out who is sleeping in your back garden!