Marsh Tit © Andy Tew
The Hampshire Ornithological Society is conducting a survey of Marsh Tits in Hampshire during 2023.
The Marsh Tit is red listed as a declining species and is not well covered by annual monitoring schemes.
The aim of the HOS survey is to count Marsh Tits in a randomly selected sample of 1km squares across Hampshire using standard and repeatable methods. In this way we can establish a good baseline to allow future monitoring of the species. The selection of squares to survey is based on the area of broadleaved and mixed woodland within them. We are using the well-tried playback method which has been proved to be a very effective way of detecting the species. For instance, in Sussex a survey of Marsh Tits in 2020/21 found the species to be widespread in many parts of the county (see the 2021 Sussex Bird Report for the full write up).
Survey instructions, recording forms and playback files, along with a map of the selected 1km square, can be downloaded from this website and printed. To get started, view the county map to see the available survey squares.
Survey website developed by Garganey Consulting