Wader Calendar
The Wader Calendar is a quick and easy way for farmers to record waders on their farm and contribute to a national monitoring scheme.
We want to enable farmers to monitor waders on their land, to collect evidence which can be used to evaluate and improve conservation management.
Time / Skill Required
Why take part?
Birds and people have both been impacted by the sweeping changes to farming landscapes and practices over the last century.
Farmers are the traditional custodians of waders. Increasing your involvement in wader monitoring and conservation will improve the outlook for waders in the UK.
Register your interest and sign up
- Enter your details on the Wader Calendar Online Form to register your interest. This is not a commitment to complete the survey, and you do not need to have waders on your farm to register.
- Request a paper pack when you register your interest in the Online Form, or download and print the instructions and forms from the Resources section of this page.
- Read the Survey Instructions for guidance on how to use the Recording Forms, and what to record.
Record waders on your farm
- There is no strict survey methodology. Just keep weekly estimates of the number of five target waders on your farm from April to July.
- The time it takes depends on your chosen methods. Keeping notes as you go should only take a few minutes each week, but dedicated counts at set times in the week may take longer.
- You only need to be able to recognise and identify the five target species: Curlew, Lapwing, Oystercatcher, Redshank and Snipe.
Our Wader Behaviour Guide has useful tips for recognising key wader behaviours.
Weekly wader counts run between 1 April - 28 July 2024.
Send us your records
Fill in your Farm Details, Method Used and Notes on the Wader Calendar Recording Forms. Please send this to us before 30 September 2024:
- Send a scan/photo of both pages of your Wader Calendar Recording Form to waders@bto.org or
- Post your Recording Form to
FAO: Paul Noyes
BTO Scotland
Beta Centre (Unit 15)
Stirling University Innovation Park
Stirling
FK9 4NF
Wader Calendar Resources
You can request a paper pack containing instructions and forms when you register your farm – you don’t need to print these yourself unless you want to.
- Survey instructions
- Recording forms
- Full booklet containing instructions and recording forms
Field management guidance
Field management guidance (PDF, 348.66 KB)- BTO Code of Conduct
Our Wader Behaviour Guide has useful tips for recognising key wader behaviours.
Contact waders@bto.org with any questions or queries.
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