How to walk a hundred miles and see 69 bird species in one month

In December 2012 I received my regular British Trust for Orniithology (BTO) news email. Tucked away, in amongst the various interesting items, was an invitation to join in the Foot It challenge. This is an informal Blog based competition organised by an employee of the BTO.

According to Mark “ the aim is to see as many species in your area, on foot throughout January. Some people live in areas that are significantly more bird rich than others so you work out what species you are likely to see then work out the percentage of your target that you've seen. This way everyone has an equal chance. The whole purpose of this is of course not just about numbers but to open our eyes to what is literally on our doorsteps.”

Now, I am not a brilliant birder. However I am a reasonable amateur naturalist, a keen walker and I am fairly knowledgeable about what is around in my local environment, so this challenge appealed to me. Hence, I entered the competition.

I drew up a list of what was I thought I was likely to see based on my memory of what I have seen during winter over the past nine years of living in Endon.

My list contained 69 species of bird, which, as I had never counted them up before, rather impressed me.

I categorised each species according to how likely I think it will be to find them during the survey.

Green species are those which are easy to spot, for instance are commonly seen in gardens and other built up areas. (45 species)

Amber species are those that will require a visit to a place which contains their usual habitat, for example large water bodies. (initially 13 then 14 species)

Red species are those that are only seen either because the weather is appropriate (e.g. freezing conditions drive upland species to lowlands for shelter) or by chance (e.g. when I just happen to be in the right place at the right time) (11 species). You will see that there is more than 69 species on the list. This is because during the survey I discovered some species that I hadn't anticipated. In the end I scored 100% (69 species seen out of a target of 69) though four on the original list were replaced by four I did not anticipate seeing.

Here are the results.

	Target Species and where seen (in brackets)	Jan 1st	Jan 2nd	Jan 3rd	Jan 4th	Jan 5th	Jan 6th	Jan 13th	Jan 14 th	Jan 17th	Jan 19th	Jan 20 th	Jan 21st	Jan 26th	Jan 27th
1	Mute swan (Greenway Bank CP)						53
2	Greylag goose (amongst Canada geese on C. Canal)					40
3	Canada goose (Weavers fields floodwater)	1
4	Barnacle goose (flock of about 20 birds flying over Endon valley)														67
5	Wigeon (males and females on Endon floodwater)														68
6	Mallard (flood water Weaver's fields)	2
7	Teal (c10 in seasonal pool along Endon Brook, longsdon)					41
8	Tufted duck (deep Hayes CP pool)					42
9	Goosander (along Endon Brook valley)					43
10	Pheasant (own garden)	3
11	Little grebe (Deep Hayes CP pool)					44
12	Great crested grebe(Greenway Bank CP)						54
13	Cormorant (Greenway Bank CP)						55
14	Grey heron (Endon brook)	4
15	Common buzzard (from Joyce's window)	5
16	Sparrowhawk (nr. Stanley head)								60
17	Kestrel (from Hazelhurst Junction)	6
18*	merlin
19*	Peregrine falcon
20	Moorhen (Caldon Canal)	7
21	Coot (Stanley Pool)			32
22	Lapwing (flock of c30 from Joyce's kitchen window)	8
23	Snipe (near C. Canal, snowy weather)								61
24*	Jack snipe
25	Black headed gull (flying along Endon valley)	9
26	Herring gull (Endon floodwater)														69
27	Lesser black backed gull (Greenway Bank CP)						56
28	Woodpigeon (Weaver's fields)	10
29	Feral pigeon (farm at Stanley)			33
30	Collared dove (garden bird table Orford Road)				38
31	Tawny owl (from home)	11
32	Barn owl (in rough grassland adjacent ot C. canal between Endon and Stockton Brook)											64
33	Kingfisher (Deep Hayes CP pool)					45
34	Great spotted woodpecker (Endon Riding School)			34
35	Green woodpecker (by Hollybush, Denstone)					46
36	Pied wagtail (on roof or farm by Hollybush)					47
37	Grey wagtail (stream by footbridge off Ch. La.)						57
38	Wren (in tussocky grass along disused railway)	12
39	Dunnock (hedge in Church Lane – walk to work)				39
40	Robin (hedgerow in Endon)	13
41	Blackbird (own garden)	14
42	Fieldfare (along with flocks of redwing, starling and WP in crack willow along Endon Brook)					48
43	Mistle thrush (flying across field from disused raiway)	15
44	Song thrush (in hawthorn along disused railway)	16
45	Redwing (Endon Riding School)			35
46	Goldcrest (in neighbour's conifer tree)		27
47	Long tailed tit (along disused railway)	17
48	Coal tit (from bird hide in Deep hayes CP)					49
49	Blue tit (home)	18
50	Great tit (home)	19
51	Nuthatch (church Lane, Endon)	20
52	Tree creeper (Deep Hayes CP)					50
53	Magpie (along disused railway line)	21
54	Carrion crow (from railway line)	22
55	Rook (from railway line)	23
56	Jackdaw (from railway line)	24
57*	Raven
58	Starling (railway line)	25
59	House sparrow (railway line)	26
60	Tree sparrow (hedge along railway line behind houses)		28
61	Chaffinch (“hedge” along railway line)		29
62	Goldfinch (“hedge” along railway line)		30
63	Greenfinch (Footpath off Church La. Endon)						58
64	Siskin (Deep Hayes CP)							59
65	Lesser redpoll (in birch trees in large mature gd. Off Post La.)									62
66	Bullfinch (brambles alongside Caldon Canal)		31
67	Reed bunting (disused railway line, Longsdon)					51
68	Marsh tit (railway line)			36
69	Jay (scrub by Stanley pool)			37
70	Willow tit (in scrub adjacent to railway line in Longsdon)					52
71	Manderin duck (amongst a flock of mallards at Deep Hayes CP)										63
72	Dunlin (flying over field to land beside Endon Brook)												65
73	Meadow pipit (Endon Sewage Works)													66
	NEW SPECIES PER DAY	26	5	6	2	13	6	1	2	1	1	1	1	1	3
	RUNNING TOTAL	26	31	37	39	52	57	58	60	61	62	63	64	65	69

After all the participants had entered their scores into the Foot It league table the final result was :

1. 109 people entered the competition for places all over the British Isles and a few who live abroad.
2. The top score was 128.89% (though note that the lower the original target the higher the percentage each extra bird scores).
3. My score was 100% and I came 47^th in the league table along with 11 other people. My score included four species I didn't anticipate seeing and they replace four on my original list.
4. The bottom score was 27.14%, probably someone who couldn't get out much for some reason.
   
   

But what did I achieve? Well some very enjoyable walks (about 100 miles in total) and several cheap days out. But most of all it did inspire me to spend more time that usual looking at my local patch and, in particular, understand the relationship between how the local weather relates to the occurrence of particular species. Plus I put most of my records onto Birdtrack – which must be a good result.