Programa Lanius: seguiment de les poblacions d'ocells d'Andorra

(ENG) The monitoring of common birds in Andorra (SOCA) is a census system for the bird populations which will reveal the seasonal tendencies of a large part of the common birds in Andorra. It is a continuous monitoring programme, developed in collaboration with the Catalan Ornithology Institute (ICO), which requires a minimum effort but one which must be maintained year after year. SOCA requires counting and recording all the bird species' individuals detected, both visually and audibly, over a 3 km itinerary, divided into 6 sections of 500m each, which is carried out on foot and at a slow pace (2 to 2 and a half hours to complete the itinerary). The census is always carried out in the morning, between dawn and the following 4 hours, and the weather conditions must be good. Days of rain, snow or strong winds must therefore be avoided as they render the detection of birds difficult and make it unlikely that any birds should appear.