Training in marine bird surveys from boats
JNCC is concerned to ensure that marine surveys of seabirds
carried out in UK waters follow common standards and are compatible
with data collected as part of the JNCC Seabirds at Sea (SAS) and
the European Seabirds at Sea (ESAS) databases. To this end, JNCC
has periodically organised courses in boat-based ESAS survey
methods, and hopes to hold further training courses in the future,
but is unable to offer any courses at present.
At the end of you course, the trainer will
make his or her assessment, and will pass these details back to
JNCC. For a trainee to become accredited, feedback on the course
and the trainer must be returned to
. Once this is
received, the trainee will be issued with their certificate and
observer number. JNCC recognises that there is sometimes need for a
fast turnaround with certification, and as such will endeavour to
return certificates and observer numbers as promptly as
possible.
If you are having problems setting up a
course, or are a trainer looking to fill spaces on a course, the UK
ESAS hub yahoo group might be of use. As well as being a means of
putting trainers in touch with trainees and vice versa, the hub can
be used to ask any pertinent questions, and JNCC will use it to
disseminate ESAS and survey related news.
There is now a Yahoo group (
) that will allow
trainers and trainees a more useful means of contacting one
another, as well as being a hub for any other ESAS based questions.
To use the site, simply email the above address. All emails will
need to be passed by the moderator of the site before being made
public. This may lead to occasional delays when the moderator is
out of the office, but we will do our best to ensure that these
times will be made clear to all users of the site.
Training takes the form of at least three days
of theoretical and practical instruction by a JNCC-approved ESAS
trainer. The trainers will assess their students in five areas of
competency: identification skills, understanding of recording
methods, basic navigation, eyesight and recording stamina. While
all surveyors receive a course completion certificate or letter,
the trainers might not be able to pass students in all five
competencies. If you are considering taking training, it is
essential that you are realistic about your abilities in
identification (seabirds and cetaceans), eyesight (visual acuity)
and recording stamina (seasickness, fatigue), as these competencies
cannot be taught during a training course. In particular, a number
of trainees present on courses lack seabird identification skills;
when this happens, the trainer finds it virtually impossible to
assess the students because they struggle in all practical aspects
to the training. If you are in doubt then please discuss this with
the trainer.
To give an idea of what standard of
identification is required, try to answer these questions without
reference to a field guide or similar. If you struggle with any of
them it will be worth discussing this with a trainer before signing
up for the course.
The following individuals and organisations are able to provide
ESAS-approved training on a commercial basis:
Ciaran Cronin
01381 600394 or
07973 801133
,
Jonathan Ford Environmental Ltd, 07980 511871
,
Ecological Associates, 07810193029
01224 898182
Gardline Environmental Ltd, 01493 845600
,
Natural Research Ltd, 07989 719810
It is highly recommended that anyone carrying out marine bird
surveys should be trained in these methods and, increasingly,
consultancies want fully trained surveyors.
Boat survey resources
Recording forms:
Other information:
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documents.