River Thame - Birding Desert Or Just Under Watched and Undervalued? 5 Years of Surveying the River and Catchment

River Thame - Birding desert or just under watched and undervalued? 5 years of surveying the river and catchment

Nick Marriner, RTCT Trustee, Saturday 21st November, 2020 TVERC Recorders Conference River Thame?

River Thame Conservation Trust - monitoring, safeguarding and enhancing the wildlife of the river and its catchment 65 km - river 682 km² - catchment

River Thame Conservation Trust - monitoring, safeguarding and enhancing the wildlife of the river and its catchment Bird survey programme:

• Baseline - what species use the catchment to overwinter and/or breed? • Presence - which areas have greatest range of species? • Abundance - which areas have the highest species density? • Distribution - where are the most important habitats? • Trends - what has happened in last 10 years since 2007-11 BTO Bird Atlas? • Importance - does the catchment host any species of concern?

River Thame Conservation Trust - monitoring, safeguarding and enhancing the wildlife of the river and its catchment Thank you:

• Volunteer effort: • 75 volunteers • 1,884 survey visits • 32,743 records • 162 species • Over 7,525 voluntary hours • Equiv. to F/T Officer for over 4 years • Over c. £160,000 in kind support

River Thame Conservation Trust - monitoring, safeguarding and enhancing the wildlife of the river and its catchment WeBS:

• WeBS (since November 2015) • 16 Survey sites • 60 months of data • 4,783 records • 938 surveys • 48 wetland spp.

River Thame Conservation Trust - monitoring, safeguarding and enhancing the wildlife of the river and its catchment Atlas Survey: (Tetrad coverage)

River Thame Conservation Trust - monitoring, safeguarding and enhancing the wildlife of the river and its catchment All Birds:

• Atlas (Year 4 of 4) • 238 Tetrads • 236 (99%) completed • 946 surveys; 153 species; • 27,960 records

River Thame Conservation Trust - monitoring, safeguarding and enhancing the wildlife of the river and its catchment Wetland Bird Survey: WeBS species

Number Number Species 10

Survey site (Source to Mouth)

River Thame Conservation Trust - monitoring, safeguarding and enhancing the wildlife of the river and its catchment Key areas:

Aylesbury to Eythrope

Shabbington to Waterstock

River Thame Conservation Trust - monitoring, safeguarding and enhancing the wildlife of the river and its catchment Shabbington - Ickford - Waterstock:

River Thame Conservation Trust - monitoring, safeguarding and enhancing the wildlife of the river and its catchment Importance of the floodplain

530 30 175

13 45

River Thame Conservation Trust - monitoring, safeguarding and enhancing the wildlife of the river and its catchment Spectacles

1,250 189

500 3

River Thame Conservation Trust - monitoring, safeguarding and enhancing the wildlife of the river and its catchment River Thame Conservation Trust - monitoring, safeguarding and enhancing the wildlife of the river and its catchment Waterstock - Local Wildlife Site

5 years of monthly surveying 118 species : 19 BAP and 67 on protected lists

River Thame Conservation Trust - monitoring, safeguarding and enhancing the wildlife of the river and its catchment Ickford - Local Wildlife Site

River Thame Conservation Trust - monitoring, safeguarding and enhancing the wildlife of the river and its catchment Aylesbury STW - Eythrope:

River Thame Conservation Trust - monitoring, safeguarding and enhancing the wildlife of the river and its catchment Waterstock:

River Thame Conservation Trust - monitoring, safeguarding and enhancing the wildlife of the river and its catchment Curlew:

River Thame Conservation Trust - monitoring, safeguarding and enhancing the wildlife of the river and its catchment Breeding Curlew

Min. 2 birds

8 birds (+ 1 chick)

Min. 2 birds

River Thame Conservation Trust - monitoring, safeguarding and enhancing the wildlife of the river and its catchment Waterstock Shabbington - Ickford

Proposed M40 Warehouse Distribution Centre

River Thame Conservation Trust - monitoring, safeguarding and enhancing the wildlife of the river and its catchment So what has your work told us?

• 5 years of data …..

• Range of protected/notable species, key floodplain • Priority areas (Thame - Waterstock, Aylesbury - Eythrope) • People care • Development pressure - more to be done

• Under-watched, under-recorded, under-valued • Landscape scale surveying makes a difference ….

River Thame Conservation Trust - monitoring, safeguarding and enhancing the wildlife of the river and its catchment