scientific survey of woodland, i need your help!

[whaleomeloette]

im going to be doing a survey of my local national trust woodland, no one has ever done one dispite the fact another amature enthusiast has found a new species there!
so iv offered to do it again- i have offered before but they didnt seem very organised about it and got emails mixed up etc and didnt really know what they were doing so i gave up
so im trying yet again to try to do this because i think its important to know whats on this woodland.
its a mix of ancient and new and its undisturbed, hardly anyone goes in there really... well they have started doing bug walks now in there, dispite when i suggested this they said they didnt have the money even though i offered to pay for info and trail leaflets out of my own pocket

i know i can rely on you good folk for helping me id stuff
but can you help me in... well. where the hell do i start?!

pit fall traps?
moth traps?
sweeping grass with nets?
what do i do!

[Matt Smith]

Just take a walk or two round the woodland and take some pics of what you find and post them here. As this is a survey for "someone else" then you need to be 100% sure of an ID if you are presenting a report to them - gettting a "it might be xxxxx" on here is not good enough.

Stay away from pitfall traps unless you have a microscope and the appropriate keys to things like ground beetles - they can generate an awful lot of specimens to check.

[JennyS]

Get yourself a couple of good reference books so if you're having survey species identified for you on here you can then read up about them and learn about their habitats, food plants etc.

[whaleomeloette]

Originally Posted by Matt Smith

Just take a walk or two round the woodland and take some pics of what you find and post them here. As this is a survey for "someone else" then you need to be 100% sure of an ID if you are presenting a report to them - gettting a "it might be xxxxx" on here is not good enough.

Stay away from pitfall traps unless you have a microscope and the appropriate keys to things like ground beetles - they can generate an awful lot of specimens to check.

i would really like some one to do a propper survey here as im pretty clueless to be honest, and i think this could be a fantastic site but i want to try and do something!
the place im doing it for isnt exactly the most clued up and professional national trust place when i asked them things they didnt know alot of what i was asking.

thanks for the pitfall trap advice!

[whaleomeloette]

Originally Posted by JennyS

Get yourself a couple of good reference books so if you're having survey species identified for you on here you can then read up about them and learn about their habitats, food plants etc.

i have the colins guide to uk insects which is quite good, but doesnt give much info
also buying British Moths and Butterflies - a Photographic Guide soon

could you suggest any good books at all?

i have alot of websites saves which iv found though here i can use as reserch material also

[whaleomeloette]

do you think there is anyone else i could get to do this? who actualy knows what they are doing.. because like i say i dont really have a clue but i think this site could have some rare species on it

[thunder]

Originally Posted by whaleomeloette

do you think there is anyone else i could get to do this? who actualy knows what they are doing.. because like i say i dont really have a clue but i think this site could have some rare species on it

Well, most of the really capable people who would be able to do this are professionals, and would need paying. But the local Wildlife Trust will have some experts, and they may be able to help for the love of it.

What county is this woodland in?

The National Trust do have their own survey teams - it is a little surprising that they have not gathered some information on the site.

henrya

[whaleomeloette]

Originally Posted by thunder

Well, most of the really capable people who would be able to do this are professionals, and would need paying. But the local Wildlife Trust will have some experts, and they may be able to help for the love of it.

What county is this woodland in?

The National Trust do have their own survey teams - it is a little surprising that they have not gathered some information on the site.

henrya

it is liverpool, so all i can say is what do you expect.its terrible here.
i asked what they knew about the wildlife when i went in for my voulenteer induction and they didnt know much about the species that lived there, it was more a case of when someone spots something they will write it on a blackboard by the shop
they didnt even know you could rent traps from the mammal society to do a study!
when i asked about fund raising meaning goverment or private grants they said 'we have raffles' i nearly cried.
it makes me so sad when i think that this woodland could have so many species of interest on it and no one is doing anything about it
there could be blue ground beetles, mole crickets blue underwings who knows!
and no one will unless they do a propper study

[nutmeg]

Are you a member of any wildlife/natural history etc. organisations in Liverpool? I've found my local ones to be great for sharing knowledge.

How about Project Dirt in Liverpool? I notice they've got a training day advertised:

BUMBLEBEE HAVEN WILDLIFE & BIODIVERSITY TRAINING DAY - Project Dirt Liverpool

Plus other events.

[whaleomeloette]

ooo ill go have a look now, thank you very much!