RESEARCH

Current research projects

GWCT PROJECT
PROJECT STATUS: IN PROGRESS

We have commissioned the GWCT to carry out the first ever large scale corvid (magpie, right) removal experiment to examine the impact on farmland bird productivity.

A pilot study to validate the new methodology is currently underway. This project is a logical next step following these recent research findings. The total cost of this project will be in the region of £88,000.

With generous help from members and other benefactors we have already raised £11,000 for the pilot study but we urgently need to raise funds for the balance.

Click here to download our Research Fund Appeal Form

UNIVERSITY OF READING
PROJECT STATUS:COMPLETED

Our own appraisal of past research on predation indicated that much of the material that is quoted by major conservation bodies is either out of date, suffers from flawed methodologies or lacks objectivity.

University of Reading Project - Completed

We had been fortunate to engage The Centre for Agri-Environmental Research (CAER) at the University of Reading, one of the leading institutions in this field, to carry out a comprehensive review of predation research. The aim of the review was to:

1. Clearly describe the state of current knowledge on predation.
2.Critically evaluate the existing evidence linking changes in predator populations with changes in the numbers of their avian prey.
3. Identify key issues requiring future research.

The project was be conducted by Dr. Malcolm Nicoll, a post-doctoral Research Fellow within the centre under the supervision of Professor Ken Norris, Director of CAER. It took approximately two years to complete.

Go to: CAER | Press Release | Methods in Ecology & Evolution | Full Report

BTO/UNIVERSITY OF ST ANDREWS
PROJECT STATUS: COMPLETED

SongBird Survival had commissioned a detailed statistical analysis of long term data sets in order to examine the effects of the abundance of avian predators on trends in the abundance of songbirds.

It took about one year to complete and was be carried out by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and the Centre for Research into Ecological and Environmental Modelling (CREEM) at the University of St Andrews.

Go to: Journal of Applied Ecology | Full report

What do we hope to achieve?

These projects have been initiated to provide SongBird Survival with a defensible evidence-base on which we can build our future policy and support for further research.Â It is part of a process to establish the best way to manage our wildlife and biodiversity and to save our songbirds.Â Whilst one cannot predict the outcome of scientific research we believe that we have identified the vital initial work that needs to be done.