Volunteers needed for the Montane Bird Survey 2025
Do you have experience of hiking on Scotland’s mountains and their alpine plateaus? Are you interested in helping to monitor the impacts of climate change on birds?
RSPB and NatureScot are collaborating on the 2025 national Montane Bird Survey and are looking for volunteers to help monitor three characteristic montane bird species: Dotterel, Ptarmigan and Snow Bunting.
Since the last Montane Bird Survey in 2011, the accelerating rate of climate change and its potential impacts on montane habitats highlights the need for up-to-date information on how our montane bird species are faring. Next year's Montane Bird Survey will update our knowledge of recent climate change impacts on Dotterel and offer the first empirical assessments of such impacts on Snow Bunting and Ptarmigan. Monitoring these species presents one of the few indicators currently at our disposal to quantify the impacts of climate change in UK montane habitats.
The survey will take place between May and July 2025 and involves visiting alpine plateaus to survey for Dotterel, Snow Bunting, and Ptarmigan. If you are interested in getting involved, please contact Dr Leah Kelly (email) at RSPB Scotland.
