A major RSPB-led survey of Oxfordshire birds lasting four years is launched this month and volunteers are asked to play a vital role, writes PETER BARRINGTON

Red kites have been a big wildlife success story ever since they were introduced into the Chilterns several years ago. Since their re-appearance, aided by conservation groups, they have spread their wings westwards to the Cotswolds and as far as Worcestershire and Shropshire.

But not all birds have done so well in recent years and a recent pilot survey in Oxfordshire undertaken by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and local ornithological groups has found a decline in numbers in some species. Nightingales, house sparrows, starlings and the Lesser spotted woodpecker have all suffered from dwindling populations.

So to find out more volunteers are being sought for a countywide survey beginning this month. To give as accurate a picture as possible the survey will last until 2011.

It is the first survey of its kind since the 1960s and is being backed by the RSPB Midlands regional office in Banbury, Oxford Ornithological Society, Banbury Ornithological Society and the Thames Valley Envionmental Records Centre, which is based in Woodstock.

Colin Wilkinson, a conservation officer for the RSPB in Banbury, explained: "The first rule of conservation is good information and that is why we want as many people as possible to take part. We hope the survey will be as comprehensive as possible by covering the whole of Oxfordshire."

Findings of the survey will eventually be drawn up into an atlas of Oxfordshire birds, similar to an atlas published some years ago.

The Oxfordshire survey results will also become part of the wider survey being conducted by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), which will form the basis of a British Bird Atlas.

Volunteers taking part will be given a geographical area to survey.

"We will have experienced birdwatchers acting as co-ordinators or mentors in every area so volunteers can refer any queries and their findings to someone knowledgeable about bird species," said Colin. "We would like to have volunteers from people living in the countryside and the urban areas too as it is important to know what is going on in villages, towns and Oxford itselft."

Gavin Bird, of the Environmental Records Centre, said: "The national survey by the BTO gives us an opportunity to find out more about bird populations here in Oxfordshire. Colleagues and I at our Woodstock office will be doing the number-crunching."

Volunteers will be free to make their own arrangements for counts on their allocated patches.

Colin added: "We hope people will go out twice in the winter and twice in the summer to give an overall picture. For example, they might go out in the winter in 2007 and again in early 2008."

The commitment will be to continue the surveys until 2011.

He also emphasised that the surveys were independent from the RSPB's annual Great Big Garden Bird Watch, which is held every January. However, anyone taking part in the Bird Watch can take part in the Oxfordshire survey.

"People who regard themselves as only half a birdwatcher will be welcome to join our survey," said Colin.

As part of the preparation for this 2007-11 survey, a pilot project was carried out in 2005. The results of this snapshot showed that several species were increasing in numbers while others were declining.

Among the species on the 'good news' list were the cetties warbler, which after being on the seldom found list in Oxfordshire, was now more frequently seen.

It was estimated that there were now seven or eight breeding pairs on Otmoor and along the Thames.

Ravens were once virtually unknown in the past but now there were at least five or six breeding pairs in the county. Buzzards, too, have been doing well after suffering from a hard time in recent years because of the myxomatosis viral disease attacking rabbits, which were a source of carrion food.

The re-introduction of red kites into the Chilterns has been well documented. The project to bring them back to the region was undertaken by the RSPB, English Nature and other groups.

"We are absolutely certain there are a small number of red kites in the Cotswolds and they have been seen in Worcestershire and Shropshire for the first time in some 130 years," said Colin. On the 'bad news' list of declining numbers are nightingales, which are believed to have dropped by around half, probably because of a loss of habitat.

House sparrows, which were so common in the past, have declined considerably. Reseach has found that farming practices have been a factor in the decline.

Colin said: "You no longer see piles of spilt corn grain in farmyards, which were a good source of food, because of an increased level of tidiness on farms. But house sparrows have also been affected closer to home, with the fashion to turn gardens into paved areas for parking cars and putting down gravel, stones and pebbles to create low-maintenance gardens for householders.

"These moves have led to a reduction in insects on which house sparrows feed."

Lesser spotted woodpeckers have also become more rare, though the other woodpecker species, the green and the greater spotted, do not seem to be affected.

The survey might also find species new to the county, such as bitterns, Little egrets, marsh harriers and Dartford warblers.

Those wanting to volunteer or to obtain further information on the 2007-2011 survey should contact Gavin Bird by e-mail on gavin.bird@oxfordshire.gov.uk