Breeding Bird Volunteer Surveyor - Mid Swale Wetlands

Are you a keen birder who could put their skills to use and contribute to Yorkshire Wildlife Trust monitoring? Do you love early mornings, gorgeous sunrises, and exceptional wildlife sightings? If you love birds, getting out into nature and exploring, we have a unique opportunity to survey breeding birds on three idyllic locations in the Mid-Swale area - read on to find out more!

We are currently looking to recruit Volunteer Breeding Bird Surveyors across 3 private sites in the Mid-Swale area:

• Pepper Arden Bottoms, Pepper Arden
• Southwood Farm, Danby Wiske
• The Batts, Colburn

Please note this is a separate role from the Breeding Bird Surveyor opportunity on YWT reserves. We are open to applications for both roles, so please specify the location you are interested in when you apply.

Breeding Bird Surveyors monitor the status and trends of bird populations. The data you'll collect helps us create maps of bird populations and helps us to understand where future works can be focused.

We are currently working on projects in the Mid-Swale area helping to improve connectivity for wildlife, especially focusing on wetland creation and restoration. Data collected can give us a baseline indication of bird species present in the area which may lead to further habitat creation, or changes in management practice that will hopefully benefit that species.

If you are able to identify birds by call, song and by sight throughout spring and summer, we would love to hear from you. 

You will be assisting with Breeding Bird Surveys on one of three private sites to give baseline records of bird species present, and this will help us to focus future works in the area. You will do this by being involved with the following tasks:

• Following an initial site visit with the River Restoration Officer, this volunteer role involves surveying on site on your own. Full risk assessments and lone volunteering procedures will be shared as part of your induction.
• You'll undertake 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 and see.
• Mapping the behaviours, songs and calls you hear and see using the BTO (British Trust for Ornithology) codes provided.
• Reporting results back to the River Restoration Officer.