Five Years of Point Count Data Collection at Spurn

The end of the 2024 autumn season marks the fifth year of Point Count data collection, and we would like to express our thanks to all those who have helped make this possible. We rely on our excellent and skilled volunteers to collect this data – we couldn't have done it without you!

The rationale behind conducting Point Counts to monitor grounded migrants at Spurn lies in the fact that, since they involve a single observer and are regular, they produce a smaller sample of data that is both consistent and comparable. This makes analyses easier, allowing us to track annual and seasonal changes, such as peak arrival dates or identifying 'good' and 'bad' years for the numbers of a given migrant passing through Spurn. Casual observations, on the other hand, can vary significantly due to the number of observers and locations covered (since walking down the peninsula while it is pouring with rain isn’t exactly pleasurable for most people!). Additionally, Point Counts help monitor the migration of grounded species that cannot be accurately counted via visible migration or during seawatching. These species, which prefer to migrate under the cover of darkness, are relatively cryptic and don’t fly in the open much, such as Wrens, Dunnocks, Blackcaps, and Robins. Daily log, regular seawatching, and visible migration watches are all incredibly valuable in different ways, and we are fortunate to have a mix of structured and unstructured data that complement one another.

Now, with five years of data under our belt, it's time to review our methods, the data collected, and, hopefully, publish a paper! It is important to periodically review surveys to ensure they are tracking what we need them to, to make improvements to the methodology, and to share that review with others, such as fellow Bird Observatories.

We have high hopes that our methods will bear fruit, and the summaries and graphs included in Spurn Wildlife suggest that this is the case. Furthermore, we have been trialling a method of standardising Visible Migration (vismig). Since different people have different visual acuities, some extremely high-flying flocks of small birds, like Chaffinches, may be missed depending on the observer. Therefore, in a similar vein to Point Counts, we will attempt to record a sample of the total 'vismig' across a set, specific area (i.e., within an invisible box around the counter), so that our data will be as consistent and comparable between our skilled staff and volunteers.

Thank you again to everyone who has carried out monitoring or ad-hoc recording at Spurn and contributed counts to the Observatory's vast and important database.

On a personal note, I thoroughly enjoyed conducting Point Counts because it was an effective way to hone my bird call ID skills further. It also got me out birding when I would normally have been more tempted to stay inside, so I saw things I would have otherwise missed, such as a Peregrine taking advantage of waders displaced by a rainstorm and high tides on the Peninsula!