Hobby Falco subbuteo

Hobby are a Schedule 1 species and therefore care must be taken when surveying to avoid disturbance of nesting birds and/or dependant young (refer to Schedule 1 section for further details). It is therefore recommended that surveys are only undertaken by experienced raptor surveyors with the necessary fieldcraft skills to know how to avoid causing disturbance when undertaking surveys.

As described in Hardey et al. (2013), hobby typically breed in open lowland areas with mature trees, either in groves, in clumps, in lines or at woodland edges. Their favoured habitats include heaths, open woodland, and mixed farmland with woods and grassland. Nesting areas are often near wetlands. Their breeding range can be found on the British Trust for Ornithology Bird Atlas Mapstore.

A survey method is described in Hardey et al. (2013). However, this survey method is designed for known nesting territories, and also includes a fourth visit to check for fledging success. Therefore, it may be appropriate to reduce the number of visits, or focus the visits on the earlier part of the breeding season, if the survey has an alternative aim, such as determining hobby nesting presence or absence, which could potentially be determined in fewer visits and at lower risk of disturbance.

The survey method is described in detail in Hardey et al. (2013) and that reference should be read prior to undertaking hobby surveys (this can be accessed here). However, a summary is provided here.

Visit Schedule
Visit Schedule
References
References

Visit Schedule

  • Four visits carried out around dawn and/or dusk:
  • Visit 1: April to May. A survey carried out between sunrise and late morning, to check for occupancy (i.e. whether hobbies are present and occupying a territory);
  • Visit 2: June. Observations from a suitable vantage point to locate active nests. Care must be taken as hobbies are very sensitive to disturbance during early incubation;
  • Visit 3: July to mid-August. Carried out sunrise to late morning and/or afternoon to sunset, searching for active nests with young;
  • Visit 4: Mid-August to September. Carried out sunrise to late morning and/or afternoon to sunset, survey to check for fledged young.
  • According to Hardey et al. (2013) a minimum of three visits are required to confirm that a nesting range is unoccupied. However, this is designed to gather evidence of active nesting in a known occupied territory. Depending on the nature of the site being surveyed, it may be possible to cover all potential nesting location habitats and determine whether hobby are present or likely absent in fewer visits (this would need to be justified).

References

Hardey, J., Crick, H., Wernham, C., Riley, H., Etheridge, B. and Thompson, D (2013) Raptors: A Field Guide for Surveys and Monitoring (Third Edition). Scottish Natural Heritage: Edinburgh.