Northern Ireland Outdoors Forum - Hiking, camping and more
Information => Outdoor News and Events => Topic started by: ChuckMcB on July 02, 2013
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Butterfly Conservation NI will be running training in WCBS and general butterfly ID in partnership with the RSPB at WWT’s Castle Espie NEXT WEEK on July 10th. Details are attached, you’ll need a packed lunch. We’re be covering WCBS methodology, basic ID skills and heading out to a local farm to practise. It’s going to be a very informative and fun day.
Please RSVP to cbertrand@butterfly-conservation.org
If you are interested in taking part in this year’s survey, but haven’t signed up to a square yet, please contact our WCBS champion Peter Courtney wcbs.ni@gmail.com that you are keen and he will help assign you a square.
WCBS is quick and easy and can only be done in warm, sunny conditions. It’s a great way to practise you ID skills, to see some different parts of the country and to really help us build our scientific knowledge of how our butterflies are faring – all by going for a walk in the sunshine.
Remember, if you walk a BTO Breeding Bird Square, this counts as a WCBS too and you can walk your same route, but counting butterflies rather than recording the birds.
Butterfly Survey Training Course
Castle Espie
10 th July 2013, 10.00am – 2.00pm
This is a joint event between RSPB and Butterfly Conservation to promote butterfly surveying across the new Nature Friendly Area in County Down. We will also to cover basic butterfly identification and introduce the Wider Countryside Survey methodology. This is a free training event and all are welcome. All participants will receive a Butterflies of Ireland ID ‘swatch’.
10.00 - 10.20: East County Down Nature Friendly Area (Hayley Sherwin - RSPB)
Outline of the day and introductions
State of Nature and importance of partnerships
Project Aims – UK wide basis
Why East County Down? (Yellowhammer Recovery Project)
10.20 – 10.30: Butterfly Surveying – Never more important than now! (Catherine Bertrand - BCNI)
State of UK’s butterflies
Overview of butterfly survey and monitoring; Atlases, Transects, Species Counts, WCBS
10.30 – 10.45: WCBS and East County Down farms (Peter Courtney – WCBS Champion)
WCBS – background to survey, aims and results from past years
Survey Methodology (adapted for individual farms)
10.45 – 11.00: Refreshments
11.00 – 11.45: Butterfly Identification (CB)
What am I going to see? - Wider countryside species
Priority Species and habitat requirements
11.45 – 12.00: Matching Farms and Volunteers (HS)
Travel to Mash Direct Farm
12.00 – 14.00: Farm practical course (on farm 5 miles away)
Overview of methodology, how to carry out a butterfly survey and record species