BRITAIN has a long history of wildlife recording, much of it by ordinary people, “citizen science”. These surveys allow ecologists to track changes in number and distribution of birds, over long periods of time. These changes can then be linked to the effects of climate change and habitat changes.

The first bird survey organised by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) started in 1928, to monitor Grey heron breeding colonies. The Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS) is almost as long-running, from 1947. Every month, volunteers count the birds along their section of river, reservoir or estuary. The Wharfedale Naturalists Society also has a valuably long track-record. Formed in 1945, our annual report contains articles about local wildlife our members have recorded in the area. Take a look at the Society web-site for more information about how you can get involved.

Through Autumn and into Winter skeins of geese and swans become part of our skyscape with their formation flying. Pink-footed geese arrive in Britain from the Arctic including Greenland and Iceland to over-winter mainly around our coast. As well as our resident Mute swan, two other species of swan, Whooper and Bewick’s swan, over-winter in Britain and around the North Sea after breeding in the Arctic tundra. The photo is of Whooper swans I saw one March on Chelker Reservoir, near Skipton.

In the long, cold-spell mid-December, I heard Pink-footed geese flying over Leeds, perhaps travelling cross-country between Morecambe Bay and The Wash. The population of Pink-footed geese has quadrupled in the last 40 years. Breeding season productivity has improved with warmer summers in the Arctic. Changes in land-use have increased winter survival as well, with geese feeding on sugar beet tops.

Whooper swans fly to Britain from the east. Birds make a calculation about energy use, whether to make a short flight from the worst weather and use energy keeping warm or to make a longer flight somewhere warmer. Some wildfowl species now show “short-stopping” behaviour, over-wintering in Holland and Germany where winters are not as cold as they were, rather than using precious energy flying to Britain. Leaving wintering birds undisturbed is important so they don’t use energy unnecessarily.

You can also get involved in bird surveys, through the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch, on January 27 – 29th. Spending an hour counting the birds landing in your garden (or in a favourite park) is a great way to see how important these spaces are for wildlife.

I hope you have a Happy New Year and spend some of it discovering our wildlife.

wharfedale-nats.org.uk