Fersiwn Gymraeg ar gael yma
After great success in England and Northern Ireland, the RSPB Species Volunteer Network (SVN) has expanded to Wales and Scotland! This exciting project, made possible thanks to players of People’s Postcode Lottery, supports off-reserve species recovery projects. By building diverse, experienced, self-sufficient volunteer teams, SVN aims to create a legacy for these projects, so they can continue long into the future. Anyone can be part of this network, working on the frontline to save nature!
Our Projects
To begin with, SVN are supporting three projects in North Wales: Curlew and Black Grouse recovery on the North Wales Moors, and Chough recovery in Snowdonia, Llŷn and Anglesey.
Taking Action: Curlew
The Curlew was once a familiar sight across Wales, along with its distinctive, bubbling call. Sadly, the Curlew is under threat, with predicted extinction in Wales by 2033, without coordinated conservation action.
Over the last four years, the Curlew in Crisis project has been delivering this conservation action across the UK, made possible through EU LIFE funding.
The Welsh project area spans two of the 12 Important Curlew Areas in Wales: the National Trust’s Ysbyty Ifan estate and a large moorland area known as Mynydd Hiraethog.
Since the project began, the Curlew LIFE team, including over 25 volunteers, have carried out a huge amount of varied work to protect and recover this vulnerable species. Each spring, the team have surveyed Curlew habitat, discovered nests and helped build temporary fences to protect the broods from large mammals. The SVN project is supporting this amazing team as they continue their recovery work this year.
Black Grouse Recovery
The Black Grouse is a striking bird, the males are best known for their ‘lekking’ behaviour in spring. During this mating display, they fan out their white tail feathers, strutting and screeching to impress the females. The Black Grouse was once abundant in some areas of mid and north Wales but has suffered drastic declines.
The RSPB Black Grouse Recovery Project started in the 1990s, working alongside local landowners and communities to help restore the Black Grouse habitat.
As part of the project, every spring, the RSPB along with Natural Resources Wales (NRW) and the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley National Landscape, venture out onto the moors of North Wales in early dawn, to seek out lekking Black Grouse. These all-important ‘Coordinated Lek Count’ surveys help estimate population numbers of this spectacular and declining bird.
This year is particularly special. We have recruited a team of additional volunteers to take part in these vital surveys, made possible by the Species Volunteer Network!
Conservation Action: Chough
Wales is home to the majority of the UK’s Chough breeding population (79%)! Chough need grazed, short grassland, where they dig for invertebrates in the soil. But this habitat is declining, mainly due to changes in land use and land cover.
The north-west Wales Chough Recovery Programme is working with landowners and partners to restore and preserve this essential habitat. Counting and monitoring the bird population is also important to baseline existing breeding populations and understand current and ongoing trends. SVN is supporting this project by building a network of volunteers to carry out surveying work, such as bird counts, nest finding, monitoring and protection.
Chough is also a target species for Natur am Byth, a nationwide species conservation programme in Wales, which SVN is also supporting.
How to get involved
If you are feeling inspired and would like to get involved in species recovery projects or any other volunteering roles, please go to the RSPB Volunteering Opportunities page.
If you can’t find the sort of volunteering role you’re looking for from our listed opportunities, please do get in touch so we can help you find the right role for you! You can contact us directly at SpeciesVolunteerNetwork@rspb.org.uk.