BTO Conference

I have just got back from the BTO annual conference, themed on Putting birds on the Map. It was inspiring to meet many other Atlas organisers who have had the same experience of immense enthusiasm as I have had here. The maps that Dawn Balmer put up showing the reuslkts from the first month's work were astonishing, especially for birds such as Buzzard and Littlke Egret.
There are now just three weeks to go to do all the remaining first visits for this winter's survey, and the weather so far in December has prevented many people getting out. The Christmas break should offer enough opportunity to ensure that every tetrad is covered, but please remember that if the first count in a tetrad is not done by Dec 31st, then any later count would only be used as a set of Roving records, because it is important to the survey that both winter counts, and both breeding season counts, are done in the same winter or breeding season.
We now have 272 of 400 tetrads covered- and if you have done a tetrad and feel you could take on another in time this year, please check the availability on the website. There are a lot of interesting tetrads on the Mendips and Cotswolds still up for grabs.
Richard Bland