We are currently looking to recruit Volunteer Breeding Bird Surveyors across our Yorkshire Wildlife Trust Reserves, particularly:

•    Birch Wood (North Yorkshire)
•    Garbutt Wood (North)
•    Staveley (North)
•    Upper Dunsforth Carrs (North)
•    Bolton-On-Swale Lake (North)
•    Ashberry (North-east Yorkshire)
•    Burton Riggs (North-east)
•    Little Beck Wood (North-east)
•    Low Carr (North-east)
•    Marsett Meadows (North-west Yorkshire)
•    Ashes Pasture (North-west)
•    Southerscales (North-west)
•    Grass Wood (North-west)
•    Hodgson's Fields (East Yorkshire)
•    Wheldrake Ings (East)
•    Sprotbrough Flash (South Yorkshire)
•    Upper Park Wood (West Yorkshire)

Note: We are particularly looking for volunteers to help survey the reserves listed above, but if you would be interested in volunteering at one of our other reserves, we can look to accommodate this.

Breeding Bird Surveyors monitor the status and trends of bird populations. The data collected helps us create maps of bird populations in particular areas but more importantly for Yorkshire Wildlife Trust it will help to inform the work that we may or may not do on our nature reserves.

Data collected can show whether a particular bird species is in decline, and that could help us understand how we need to manage our reserves to halt that decline, and ultimately reverse it. 

If you are able to identify birds by call, song and by sight throughout spring and summer, we would love to hear from you. This is a great way to learn new skills, get some exercise and be out in the fresh air.

You will be assisting with Breeding Bird Surveys on Yorkshire Wildlife Trust reserves, maintaining accurate records of breeding birds on our reserves to inform future management decisions. You will do this by being involved with the following tasks and training days:

• Undertaking bird surveys, usually 6 visits between April and July. Each survey will take around 2 hours on average, depending on the size of the site and the number of birds you hear.
• Mapping the behaviours, songs and calls you hear and see using the BTO (British Trust for Ornithology) codes provided.
• This volunteer role involves visiting our reserves often on your own. Full risk assessments and lone volunteering procedures will be shared as part of your induction.
• Reporting results back to the Breeding Bird Coordinator Volunteer.

There will be an option to attend a Breeding Bird Survey training session prior to the start of the main survey season. This will be held in March at our Barlow Common Nature Reserve in East Yorkshire.

For full details, please see the Role Description in the link below.