Mousehold Heath Bird Surveying
Group/Individual: Mousehold Heath Defenders
Location: Norwich
Mousehold Heath is a unique green space in the heart of Norwich. Until very recently no comprehensive records existed for the site and no science-based bird surveying had been carried out for over 30 years.
Will Stewart, a council-employed warden, wanted to address this anomaly so he produced a simple map of the site accompanied by a set of simple instructions, which could be used to record the abundance and location of all breeding birds, as well as other birds present on the site. With the help of volunteers, the site was surveyed on a number of occasions during March to July 2008 and 2009.
The results have shown the wooded areas of the site hold good populations of many common species and most importantly, that the limited remaining areas of open heathland and woodland edge, have small, but important populations of migrant species such as willow warbler, garden warbler, blackcap and chiffchaff. Other interesting species noted (but not breeding) have been siskin, wood warbler and common buzzard.
The emerging picture helps to show how generally poor the site has become for species associated with open heath, but has also proved that the management efforts undertaken over the past few years are producing positive results. This information will be used to inform the council’s long-term management plan for the site, the cornerstone of which is protecting existing heathland habitat and, where feasible, extending the area of open heath for the benefit of wildlife and people.