A special website to monitor the number of birds arriving in Hereford this spring has been set up by The Hereford Times.
Prompted by concerns that the number of migrating cuckoos is reported to have fallen by as much as 40 per cent since the year 2000, it has set up ‘Bird Patrol’.
Headed up by deputy editor Richard Winterbourn, it has proved an instant hit with Times’ readers and calls that the cuckoo had been heard soon arrived in the Times office.
Richard said: “We received both help and advice from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the Herefordshire Ornithological Club before setting up the site.
“Herefordshire schools were also encouraged to play their part in looking out for cuckoos, swallows, swifts, house martins and other migratory birds.”
He added: “What has proved very interesting is to see the pattern by which the birds arrive in the county, it would appear that most follow the route of the River Wye. We are now wondering if they use rivers as part of the navigation process.”
Visitors to the site can log on and leave a message saying which bird they have spotted and in which parish they saw or, in the case of the cuckoo, heard it.
The site is completely interactive so all those taking part can see all the responses.
In addition bird species are colour coded and are ‘dotted’ onto a map of the county, thus providing a visual image of the spread of the birds.
At the end of the season the information will be collated and will be made available to both the RSPB and HOC.