[Nightjar Project]
The Birklands Ringing Group has received £60,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for the “Sherwood Forest to the Congo and back!” project, it was announced today.
Over the next two years the project will use the fascinating story of the Nightjar bird and ground breaking monitoring techniques to help people understand the importance of Sherwood's heathlands, both locally and as part of a global network of habitats.
The work will raise the profile of the importance of protecting Sherwood within local communities while providing information that will help shape the future management of Sherwood Forest heathlands and help protect the habitat of the Nightjar, securing the future of this enigmatic species for the long term. The project is being supported by Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, Forestry Commission and the University of Nottingham.
The project will for the first time monitor in detail, using cutting edge tracking technology, not only how the Nightjar live and breed on the Sherwood Forest heathlands, but also its migration routes. Working with local schools in Sherwood the project aims to create links with communities in Africa and help children understand the role that Sherwood Forest plays in the global network of habitats and the importance of the heathlands.
The project will also provide opportunities for more than 2,000 local people to get involved in a range of activities and for new volunteers to learn ringing and survey techniques.
The Sherwood Forest population of Nightjars is the largest population in the East Midlands but in spite of investment in the development of its heathland habitats the population is in decline. The ground breaking research proposed as part of this project will provide a new insight into how the birds interact with the habitat, and aid the understanding of how management techniques are impacting on the birds.
Birklands Ringing Group volunteers will work with staff from Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, Nottingham University and EMEC Ecology to capture and analyse the data.
Andrew Lowe from Birklands Ringing Group, “We’re delighted that the Heritage Lottery Fund has given us this grant. Using the skills and expertise of our volunteers and the support of our partners we hope to showcase the fascinating habits of the Nightjar which travels thousands of miles every year to spend the summer in Sherwood Forest.”
John Everitt – CEO Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, “This is a great opportunity to carry out innovative community led research which will provide information to help restore habitat for Nightjar in Sherwood Forest and also across the country.”
Vanessa Harbar, Head of HLF East Midlands, said: “This is a fascinating project that demonstrates how important our habitats are not just for local wildlife but as part of a global network. The whole community has a chance to help out with tracking the Nightjar bird, helping to understand its breeding and migratory patterns and taking steps to ensure it continues to spend the summer at Sherwood for many years to come.”
[Cuckoo Project]
During May, three Cuckoos were fitted with satellite tags in Sherwood Forest by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) to gain information on their movements once they leave the UK. During the last week they have all left Nottinghamshire and are now well on their way to the rainforest.
Two of the Cuckoos were caught at Sherwood Pines and the third bird at Shirebrook; this bird has been given the name of Dudley, whilst the other two are to be named shortly.
Dudley is the first Sherwood-tagged Cuckoo to reach Africa, and the first to successfully cross the Sahara Desert; he is currently on the edge of the rainforest, in eastern Nigeria. Unnamed Cuckoo, 134955 is in Morocco, just east of Marrakesh, with the other unnamed bird, 134957, being in Belgium, close to the border with the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
During the next couple of weeks all of them will make their way south but each bird will take its own route, all crossing the Mediterranean Sea and the Sahara Desert. They might not all make it to the wintering area in the Congo Rainforest, the crossing of the desert is extremely tough and can take its toll. The information that they provide as they make their way there will be vital in helping scientists at the BTO understand what might be driving the decline of the British Cuckoo; we have lost almost three-quarters of our breeding Cuckoos during the last twenty-five years.
Erin McDaid, of Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, said: “We are delighted to be supporting the BTO in their efforts to understand more about the enigmatic Cuckoo. Our staff were involved in the work to fit the birds with the tags and we hope to use the experience gained in other species monitoring projects in the future. We are following the progress of the birds from Sherwood Forest with great interest and very much hope they all return next year.”
Paul Stancliffe of the BTO, said, “Everyone can follow these three intrepid birds, and nineteen other satellite-tagged Cuckoos, as they make their way south by visiting the BTO website, www.bto.org/cuckoos Fingers crossed they have a safe journey.”
In terms of donations, if anyone is interested in supporting the Cuckoo project they should contact BTO or Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust and for the Nightjar project they should contact the Wildlife Trust.
Satellite-tagged Cuckoo and Nightjar.
About Birklands Ringing Group
Birklands Ring Group is a Community Group that was formed in 1968. The Group’s aim is to monitor bird populations within Sherwood |Forest by trapping and ringing birds, the group records all wildlife seen by its members, they provide help and advice on the enhancement of the area for the benefit of wildlife and for local people to enjoy.
For further information, images and interviews, please contact:
Andrew Lowe – Birklands Ringing Group – 07884 431582
Erin McDaid – Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust – 0115 958 8242 emcdaid@nottswt.co.uk