LifeCycle - Issue 1, Spring 2015
Published: April 2015 Issue No.: 1
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LifeCycle is primarily a magazine for the dedicated ringers and nest recorders who contribute so much time and effort to collecting essential data on the breeding success, survival and movements of Britain & Ireland’s birds. As such, it includes practical ringing and nest finding tips, details of novel techniques and summaries of successful monitoring projects that demonstrate the initiative, hard work and skill of existing volunteers, while hopefully inspiring others to set up their own studies. Many of the articles are written by ringers and nest recorders, the people with the field expertise, and we would welcome ideas and contributions for future editions.
Featured articles
In-depth reviews of survey work being undertaken on a particular group of species or habitats that bring together the experiences of multiple volunteers across Britain & Ireland. These inspirational articles highlight the stories behind the science, providing accounts of how and why projects were set up, a volunteer’s view of their progress and useful hints and tips for those thinking of setting up their own studies. Examples from the most recent issue include pieces on Peregrine, Sand Martin and House Martin monitoring.
Survey results
The spring edition includes an evaluation of the latest results from NRS, CES and RAS, comparing the previous year to the preceding five years, highlighting the winners and losers and providing interpretation of the results. Further results, including long-term trends, can be found on the CES, RAS and NRS web pages and are included annually in the BirdTrends report.
Scientific papers
Each issue contains a summary of some of the latest publications using BTO ringing and nest recording data by academics, staff members and volunteers, highlighting the value of our data.
The youth perspective
At the age of 13, guest editor Findlay Wilde is already a very active ringer and nest recorder and his page, Wilde About Monitoring, provides an overview of his peer group’s perspective on ringing, nesting and conservation issues. You can find out more about Fin’s own projects on his Wilde About Birds blog.
The stories behind the science
Each issue also carries the stories behind the science. These articles, written by ringers and nest recorders, offer insights into specific projects covering RAS, CES, other ringing projects and nest finding. They tell personal stories of how or why a project was started, give results from years of monitoring or provide tips on the best ways to undertake a project and are inspiring as well as being interesting and useful.
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