May was a very busy month with lots of breeding bird and non avian surveys to do, which meant a lot of very early starts. The list below shows the range and type of survey I carried out in May.
Corvid transects (crows, rooks, jackdaws, jays, magpies) – conducted every seven to ten days to assess corvid numbers in terms of the potential predation of eggs and young birds.
Water vole transect – monitor feeding stations, latrines and burrows.
Breeding wildfowl – to establish breeding numbers (ducks, geese, swans, coots, moorhens, grebes).
Bearded tit surveys – conducted regularly to establish numbers of breeding pairs (reedbed and non reedbed areas of the reserve).
Mink monitoring – daily checks carried out to reduce predation of birds.
HWC (High Water Count) - monthly recording all the birds in a particular area of the reserve in a set timeframe.
Breeding waders – a set number of surveys carried out during the breeding season to assess the numbers of breeding birds (lapwing, redshank, oystercatchers and avocets).
Marsh harrier monitoring – regular monitoring to study their breeding and nesting activity in the reedbed.
Little tern survey – at least one survey a week to monitor potential nesting and breeding activity on the eastern quarters spit.
Avocet and common tern monitoring – carried out twice a week to record breeding and nesting activity on Iron Gate Island.