Track-a-Jack

The Flenders Farm Tree Sparrow Project was established in 2022 with the aim of saving and growing the last significant colony of this red-listed (of greatest conservation concern )bird species in East Renfrewshire. Most of our Tree Sparrow work is carried out during the spring/summer period.

In winter, our work changes to monitor the presence and movements of migrating winter wading birds (especially Jack Snipe) that visit Flenders Farm from Eastern Europe during the period September – March.  As with the Tree Sparrows, this work involves catching and ringing (tagging) these birds and monitoring their movements. Suitable wintering habitat for these birds is declining in the UK, so understanding how many of these birds are using Flenders Farm as a critical feeding area is important information at both a local and national level.

The 'Track-a-Jack' project will fit individual GPS trackers to Jack Snipe which are caught at and around the farm. These trackers will enable the movements of individual tagged birds to be tracked at a local level and, more interestingly, an international level as the birds depart Scotland around March and begin their journey to their summer breeding grounds in Eastern Europe.  The project team will have access to reports of individual birds' progress through a monitoring portal (a bit like a car sat-nav) and will publish information on the Flenders Farm Project Facebook page.