Winter Bird Atlas

Further to John Melling’s post in Oxonbirds, the map shows a visual representation of where effort could be concentrated in the final few weeks of the national (and county) bird atlas. The paler tetrads are where fewer than 10 species (in cases no birds) have been recorded. This is the last chance to make your mark on the map and help to produce a robust data set that will be used for years to come.
As John has already commented (and as can be seen from the map), areas that are in need of attention are concentrated around the following: near Bicester; to the north of Witney; and around Hook Norton.
It shouldn’t take too much time or effort to stop at an under-recorded tetrad on the way to Farmoor or Otmoor, and have a quick tetrad bash to bring up the species total. (Of course, records are still very much welcome from the ‘hotspots’ of the county.)
Further details can be found at http://www.bto.org/volunteer-surveys/birdatlas or by googling (other search engines are available) ‘UK Birdatlas’ or similar.
Not sure which tetrads you will be passing through on your way to Farmoor or Otmoor? Check out the following link and just click on the relevant region: http://blx1.bto.org/atlas/tetrads/open-tetrad.jsp
It is recommended to regularly check the coverage, as it likely that it will change on a very regular basis as more and more records are entered towards the end of the project. This information can be found at the following link: http://www.bto.org/volunteer-surveys/birdatlas/results/regional-results and clicking on the relevant region.
Data can be entered via the Birdatlas website, via Birdtrack or by paper.
Key to map:
Clear=No species!;
white=1-9 spp;
yellow=10-19 spp;
orange=20-34 spp;
red=35-49 spp;
blue=50-79 spp;
black=greater than 80 spp