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Fieldwork and Wildlife Surveys (online only)
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Many conservation organisations appeal for volunteer surveyors to record and submit local sightings for a national wildlife survey. Taking part in any of these surveys will give you useful experience and also help to extend the scientific knowledge of a species, so vital for appropriate conservation management. Some include training in survey techniques and some may even pay expenses.
Survey Organisers: For a free listing here (online only and not automatically included in any CJS paper publication), please email the details to CJS using the Contact Us button above. The first 50 words are always completely free of charge. Any additional words will cost 15p each, with a minimum invoice of £10. (NB: Please use one of our other CJS publications to advertise any paid job/s).
Participants: If you are interested in helping with any of the surveys below, please contact ONLY the person, email, address or telephone number given in the advert.
If you would like to carry out some survey work but don't yet have the skills, see our rolling programme of training courses in the Events Section, which has details of some courses in survey skills.
We now have the results of some of previous years' surveys: click here to see what you found out!
Please scroll down for current surveys (always contact the survey organisers detailed below, not CJS):
Scottish Badger Distribution Survey 2006 - 2009 Posted June 2006
A Heritage Lottery funded project to establish the distribution of badgers in Scotland. Volunteers will be required to survey a randomly selected 1km local square for the presence or absence of badger setts and signs. In return for one day of survey work, Scottish Badgers will provide a free one-day training session. Training will take place Winter 2006/2007. Surveying will commence Winter 2007/2008. If you would like to take part in this survey please contact us now to register your interest. Contact: elaine@scottishbadgers.org.uk , 0131 657 4125 or visit www.scottishbadgers.org.uk
Deadline Dec '06
Help Plantlife this summer by spotting three of the UK's most destructive plant invaders: Japanese Knotweed, Indian Balsam and New Zealand Pigmyweed. Your support will help us to understand how threatened our countryside is. Please look at our website ( www.plantlife.org.uk ) or contact plantinvaders@plantlife.org.uk
British Trust for Ornithology (BTO). As a top predator the heron is an excellent indicator of a healthy countryside. This survey began in 1928 and is the world's longest running breeding season monitoring scheme. Observers required, especially in Scotland & N. Ireland. Contact john.marchant@bto.org
Annual survey.
Help monitor Scotland's Red and Grey Squirrel populations by helping to set up and take part in standard surveys at selected forests and red-grey interface sites. Surveys are needed in most parts of Scotland and are aimed at various levels of experience. Training will be provided.
Contact Mel Tonkin to find out about your local surveys. E: mtonkin@swt.org.uk or T: 0131 312 4733.
Canterbury Urban Biodiversity Survey- CUBS Posted Dec 2005
Canterbury's community wildlife survey needs more volunteers in 2006. We provide free wildlife ID training for birds and mammals. Varied wildlife site visits and linked practical conservation opportunities. Please contact Alex Ewing, CUBS project leader, tel. 01227 452447/379368
Email canterbury.environmentaleducationcentre@kent.gov.uk
Deadline: 31 March 2006.
Elm Map Project. If you find or know of a mature Elm tree you can enter your record online at the The Ancient Tree Hunt website www.ancient-tree-hunt.org.uk (NB: Other species can also be recorded here). Everything you need to help you identify elms and submit your contribution can be found at www.ramblers.org.uk/elms/default.htm The information will contribute to the Natural History Museum's UK Biodiversity programme, highlighting the changes to the countryside since Dutch Elm Disease and the importance of the surviving mature elms for dependant species of invertebrates, algae, fungi, lichen, moss and fern.
Deadline: None.
Stag Beetle Road Casualty Count seeks people to walk 500 metres of road looking for remains of Stag Beetles.
Living With Mammals Survey from April to June each year. 2006 survey - click here Results of 2005 survey: PDF click here.
More information on these and other surveys from www.ptes.org/action/surveys.html (see also their Press Information pages), E: nida@ptes.org or T: 020 7498 4533.
Mammals on Roads Survey. By identifying and recording the mammals drivers see (live or dead) on our roads we can build a picture of species distribution and, by comparison with previous years, their relative numbers. Free survey pack from www.mtuk.org , mor@mtuk.org or 020 7498 5262. Survey starts 1st July.
Annual survey, deadline 30 Sept.
National Waterways Survey. Visit your local canal, river or lake and record (online) all the species you see. The information gathered will be used by British Waterways to help plan the management of our navigable waterways and to protect their wildlife. www.waterscape.com/wildlife or Tel: 01923 201120.
Deadline: ?
National Bat Monitoring Programme. Volunteers needed to help monitor the UK's bat populations by taking part in surveys at bat roosts and foraging sites. The surveys are aimed at various levels of experience, meaning anybody can take part. Contact: Bat Conservation Trust, Tel: 020 7501 3622, Email: nbmp@bats.org.uk or sign up online at www.bats.org.uk
Deer Distribution Survey 2005. To establish the presence or absence of each of the 6 species of deer living wild in the UK, using the Ordnance Survey 10km grid squares. This is a follow up to the basic Survey in 2000, providing a comparison of numbers and distribution over this 5 year period. Current observations should be submitted on the official Distribution Record Sheet and you are also asked to complete a brief Observer Questionnaire. Full details from www.bds.org.uk or British Deer Society, Fordingbridge, Hampshire SP6 1EF
Deadline: ?
Harlequin Ladybird Survey. The most invasive ladybird on earth arrived in Britain last summer and now threatens our 46 native ladybird species. Numerous individuals have been recorded east of a line from the Wash to the Isle of Wight, with a few more sightings in the Midlands. This survey will monitor its spread across Britain and assess its impact on native ladybirds. Monitoring ladybirds has never been more important and surveyors are required throughout the country. Send records online via www.harlequin-survey.org or print off their recording form (in Word) and post to Harlequin Ladybird Project Officer, Biological Records Centre, CEH Monks Wood, Cambridgeshire PE28 2LS
(Another new Ladybird Survey website for recording all species will be available in April 2005. Visit www.ladybird-survey.org ).
No deadline.
Common Plants Survey. Annual nationwide survey of 65 common plants in different habitats, monitoring over 430 one km Ordnance Survey grid squares. More surveyors required for Scotland, N. Ireland, Northern England, Yorkshire, Wales, Midlands, East Anglia and the South West. (Also Survey Training Day on 4/6/05 in Wilts). Tel: 01722 342755. Email: enquiries@plantlife.org.uk or Post: 11 Rollestone Street, Salisbury, SP1 1DX Annual survey. No deadline.
Plantlife also organised one-off Survey Events (click on the Events Section link above) to monitor individual species at particular nature reserves. Open to everyone, free and no experience needed as full guidance is given on the day. Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult, no dogs and booking is essential.
Botanical Surveys in Hertfordshire. The Trust seeks volunteers to explore all corners of Hertfordshire to help with botanical surveys throughout the spring and summer, as part of the Wildlife Sites Partnership. Experience is desirable but not essential. For further information contact the Wildlife Sites Officer, Tel: 01727 858901, Email: jane.clark@hmwt.org
No deadline.
The National Phenology Network website includes Nature's Calendar and Springwatch surveys to record your UK wildlife sightings. There are also live interactive maps, personalised calendars and data tables, forum, games and their analysis of spring last year and the latest on this year. Visit www.phenology.org.uk
Annual. No deadline.
Survey a carefully chosen set of the UK's common plant species from random sampling plots in a 1km square near to where you live. The species are easily identifiable and are indicator species representative of many habitats. If you would like to take part in this annual survey please get in touch now to register your interest. In April 2005 we will send you a free survey pack and allocate you a random 1km square near to where you live. Contact: enquiries@plantlife.org.uk, 01722 342755 or Plantlife International, 14 Rollestone Street, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP1 1DX.
No Deadline.
Pick up a Polecat! Survey The Vincent Wildlife Trust (VWT) and ourselves are using road casualties to record the current distribution of the polecat in Britain. Aim to produce a reliable 10km square distribution map for the polecat in Britain and identify the presence of any feral ferret populations on mainland Britain. Hope to examine 2 specimens from each 10km square before confirming presence in that square. We will also be looking at hybridisation with ferrets and secondary rodenticide poisoning in polecats in the different areas. Volunteers needed to pick up any bodies they find (or at least photograph them) and (having kept them cool) send them to the VWT. Ring the VWT during office hours on 01531 636441 for instructions. We will also need the grid reference and date found. Deadline: Dec 2006.
National Owl Pellet Survey This survey - started Jan 1993 and still continuing - analyses owl pellet batches from throughout the UK. The vast majority of the pellets are from the barn owl (Tyto alba). Owls are highly efficient birds of prey and small mammals provide a large part of their diet, particularly for the barn owl. When the owl ingests prey, the soft tissues of the prey item are digested, leaving the bones, teeth, claws and fur. These indigestible remains are evacuated through the mouth as a pellet. A barn owl will cast on average two pellets / day. These pellets can then be collected and analysed to identify their contents by extracting the skeletal remains from the matrix, selecting the skulls and dentaries (jawbones) to identify the species of the prey items, and to produce a count of the number of prey items / species extracted from the pellets. Will provide information on the current distribution of small mammal species and on seasonal and annual variations in the "availability" of the prey species. Pellets should be collected monthly. If this is not possible, then other collection periods will be gratefully received. Samples should be as large as possible. You will receive a report on each batch sent, giving details of the contents of the batch and brief comments on the results. This has been a well supported and hence successful survey, however, it does require pellet batches from more locations particularly Scotland, Wales and South West and North England. Please send all owl pellet batches to Alasdair Love, 4 Laurel Way, Totteridge, London, N20 8HP. No deadline.
See: www.abdn.ac.uk/mammal
Your chance to contribute to skate and ray conservation by taking part in Britain's first ever eggcase hunt. In recent decades several species of skate and ray around the British coast have dramatically declined in numbers. The empty eggcases that wash up on our beaches all year round are an easily accessible source of information on the whereabouts of their nursery grounds. Search the tideline, collect the empty cases, wash them and identify the species from the Trust's simple identification guides, submit your results and see the national distribution so far - or even organise a local eggcase event. Visit: www.sharktrust.org/eggcase/index.html or write to The Shark Trust, Rope Walk, Coxside, Plymouth, Devon PL4 0LF
Deadline: None.
This annual survey at the end of January generates a lot of media coverage, as well as recording national changes in bird numbers and distribution. A simple recording form will be supplied free with the spring issue of the RSPB 'Birds' magazine, or packs of 10 recording forms can be ordered [free, I think] on Tel: 0870 1222793 and will be delivered in January. More information: www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch
RSPB's Big Schools' Birdwatch
For teachers and those in contact with a school [or visitor centre?]. Same simple format as the Big Garden Birdwatch, but in schools. Can be part of a project to improve school grounds or to support curriculum learning. Tel: 0870 1222792 for a pack [free, I think], or visit: www.rspb.org.uk/schoolswatch
Annual surveys. Deadline: Mid-January.
This initiative launched by the North England region helps tree sparrows, corn buntings and lapwings. Help is needed to survey farms in this region next spring to find out where these birds are, so that farmers can be advised on how to help the wildlife on their farms. Enquiries: volunteer&farmeralliance@rspb.org.uk Contact Simon Tonkin, Tel: 0191 2126100. (If you are interested in helping the Volunteer & Farmer Alliance elsewhere in the UK, please contact Jenny Atkins, Tel: 01767 680551).
Deadline: ?
Several national, annual surveys to monitor many bird species in a range of habitats, creating an unrivalled historical database of UK bird populations and distributions. In addition to running the UK's national Bird Ringing Scheme, other surveys include: Breeding Bird Survey, Garden Birdwatch Survey, Heronries Census, Nest Record Scheme, Owls, Wetland Bird Survey, Winter Gull Roost Survey, etc. Competent bird watchers required, especially in remote areas. Details at www.bto.org or from BTO, The Nunnery, Thetford, Norfolk IP24 2PU
For the 2005 Tawny Owl Survey email owls@bto.org and they will keep you in touch.
Deadline: None.
Survey Organisers: For a free listing here (online only and not automatically included in any CJS paper publication), please email the details to CJS using the Contact Us button above. The first 50 words are always completely free of charge. Any additional words will cost 15p each, with a minimum invoice of £10.
Details believed correct but given without prejudice.