UK Common Bird Census: Breeding Bird Territories 1971-2007

UK Environmental Change Network data records bird species and estimated territories from lowland terrestrial sites using the British Trust for Ornithology's Common Bird Census methodology. The dataset provides annual estimates from a mapping protocol involving repeated site visits during breeding seasons, with variable date ranges per site. It represents a long-term monitoring effort sponsored by a consortium of fourteen UK government agencies and research bodies.

Use Cases

• Analyzing long-term population trends for specific bird species based on annual territory estimates.
• Comparing bird community composition across different lowland terrestrial monitoring sites like Rothamsted and Wytham.
• Assessing the impact of environmental change by correlating bird data with other long-term ecological monitoring variables.
• Methodological comparison between the Common Bird Census and the subsequent Breeding Bird Survey protocols.

Strengths

• Data collected using a standardized, professionally recognized protocol (BTO's Common Bird Census).
• Represents a long-term monitoring effort with data spanning from 1971 to 2007.
• Sponsored and funded by a consortium of fourteen authoritative UK government and research organizations.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as specific column names, row counts, and file sizes are not provided in the available sources.
• The protocol was officially abandoned in 1999, though some sites continued it, leading to potential methodological inconsistencies in later years.
• Date ranges are variable for each site, complicating uniform temporal analysis.

Provenance

Source

UK Environmental Change Network (ECN), data collected by site monitors using BTO methodology, authored by S. Rennie.

Collection Method

Common Bird Census mapping method: series of visits to defined plots during breeding season, recording bird contacts by sight/sound on maps to estimate territories.

Time Range

1971-2007

Freshness

2026-07-02 19:16:56.879039

Geography

United Kingdom, specifically lowland terrestrial ECN sites including Alice Holt, Drayton, Hillsborough, North Wyke, Rothamsted, Wytham.