One month remaining for SpringMAP2012! 

With November a day away, the final month of SpringMap2012 is upon us. But what progress have we made, particularly over the last six weeks which was the crucial period during which the bulk of the Palearctic migrants arrived?

The image above compares coverage over this period (19 September - 31 October) and clearly shows that there has been substantial progress. On 19 September we had 253 atlasers that contributed 1438 checklsits for 934 pentads. As of today, these figures show 343 atlasers have contributed 3412 checklsits for 1859 pentads. An additional 1974 checklists were submitted which included 925 new pentads covered for the first time over the last six weeks, an almost 100% increase in coverage for SpringMAP2012. Currently 10.73% of the SABAP2 region has been covered for SpringMAP2012. Some pentads have also changed to green (4 checklists), blue (11 checklists) and red (25 checklists) over this period showing depth of coverage in certain areas, notably in Gauteng, southern Kwazulu-Natal and the southwestern Cape. These pentads will yield good quality data that will assist with the analysis and interpretation of timing of arrival for different species. The more checklists we can get for a pentad the better!

November will be the last month during which the remaining Palearctic migrants should arrive. We encouarge all atlasers to continue their atlasing efforts during this period and make a final burst to contribute to SpringMAP2012. If you can atlas your favourite or local pentads on a regular basis over the next month then you will be a SABAP2 star! This will be the last chance we have to document the timning of arrival of our Palearctic migrants, helping us to better understand whether species are adapting (or not adapting) to warmer and longer summers in Eurasia.

Well done to everyone who has contributed to the ongoing SpringMAP2012 coverage. Keep up the great work team SABAP2!

Doug Harebottle
2012-10-31

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