Submitting sightings- How do you all do it?

[jimbob]

I feel I should start submitting my sightings, but how do I go about this task? I Had a look at the BTO'S Birdtrack service- can anyone recommend this method? Obviously that particular method will only be available to British birders. Or am I better off compiling my sightings at the end of the year and sending them to the county recorder? I bird a couple of times a week, usually the coast or near my home further inland. Plenty of 'Casual' sightings within a week too, eg raptors from the car. I see Birdtrack allows you to submit one-offs, any other websites allow the same?
Cheers,
Jim.

[IanF]

I prefer to submit my sightings to the county recorder through my local bird clubs on a monthly basis. They've both kept up with the times as this is done online. Doing it monthly also means there's no big task to sort out at the end of the year. With my area spanning two bird clubs I only report them to one and they pass the details for the other recording area to the other club themselves as it saves duplication for both recoding purposes and for me.

What details you submit are up to you whether it be one offs or details of every species you've seen.

[robinm]

I suggest you check with the County Recorder how they like to receive records - http://www.britishbirds.co.uk/countyrecorders.htm. Here in Kent we are happy to receive records in various forms including via BirdTrack.

[ColinD]

I feel I should start submitting my sightings, but how do I go about this task? I Had a look at the BTO'S Birdtrack service- can anyone recommend this method? Obviously that particular method will only be available to British birders. Or am I better off compiling my sightings at the end of the year and sending them to the county recorder? I bird a couple of times a week, usually the coast or near my home further inland. Plenty of 'Casual' sightings within a week too, eg raptors from the car. I see Birdtrack allows you to submit one-offs, any other websites allow the same?
Cheers,
Jim.

Contact your county recorder and ask him / her how they want you to submit data. They can be very different. Some will take every record in comma delimited format which they will import into their database (e.g. Cheshire), whereas others (including Lancashire, my local county) don't want every Blue Tit record, they prefer it if you summerise your data.

However they do it, you'll probably need to supply the following fields as a minimum:

species name, date, location, map reference, recorder

This might sound obvious, but it's one species per record. Don't submit a record as "A mixed flock of 200 finches, including Greenfinches, Goldfinches and Brambling". You might think this doesn't happen, but believe me it does.

You might also like to check if you have a local recording group. If this is the case, consider submitting your records to them and they will pass them on to the County Recorder.

Your county recorder will tell you how often to submit your records.

[jimbob]

Ok thanks for the info people, ill get onto it. Would still be interested to hear if people use a different method of submitting sightings.

[delia todd]

Hi Jim

I've been using Birdtrack for over a year now and these entries get sent to the County Recorder - makes it easy.

D

[ghostrider]

I use Birdtrack, though not as regular as i should. They do send info to the relevent county recorders, as i found out when i got an e mail from my local recorder about a record i submitted over 12 months ago.

Also there is probably a local website being run in your area which has latest sightings, forums and local info. Most counties have them and the county recorder is probably involved with running it. That's how my local county recorder got in touch with me. By posting sightings on these local websites anything of interest or local importance soon gets picked up by the people who need to know.

Try a google search for birdwatching in your local county.

Hope this helps.

[Alan G]

We have to etch rudimentary carvings on tablets of stone in this neck of the woods I'm afraid........electricity has passed our county by.

Okay, I exagerate - we have papyrus these days.....which is nice.

[Keith Reeder]

I submitted a white stork last year, supported by pictures.

I gave up trying to make it "stick" when I was then asked to provide a list of its identifying features..!

[Alan G]

Red tape..........its everywhere.........and most of it unnecasary?

[claire78]

Hi Jim

I've been using Birdtrack for over a year now and these entries get sent to the County Recorder - makes it easy.

D

Steve Lister may have something to add to this - he is a County Recorder for Leics and Rutland (I think that's the counties he is responsible for). He said that not all county recorders look at the birdtrack data as there is so much of it. He is working on a form for his counties records that people can fill in and send to him. It has certain criteria per bird so for example he wouldn't be interested in knowning that there was 1 starling in a certain location but a flock of 10,000 would be of interest!!! Perhaps you could contact him by PM to discuss. He has sent me some useful info about what to record etc.

I submit all my data to BirdTrack and have been contacted by the local county recorders too when something interesting has occurred. In addition to what it adds to BTO research it's great becasue all my records and lists are in one place and it allows you to do some interesting stuff with the data inc prinintg out site lists, year lists, look at all the birds recorded in each 10Km square, and view on a map where you have seen certain birds.

Hope that helps - as I say talk to Steve Lister if you want more help/advice.

Claire

[martin kitching]

We have to etch rudimentary carvings on tablets of stone in this neck of the woods I'm afraid........electricity has passed our county by.

Okay, I exagerate - we have papyrus these days.....which is nice.

Alan, the 21st Century has arrived;) Blyth is within the NTBC recording area and, since January 1st this year, observers have had the option of submitting their records on an easy-to-use spreadsheet which can be supplied on request. A quick count of observers in the latest monthly bulletin shows that 38 of the 89 observers submitting records for May chose to do this.

cheers
martin

[gi2012]

Hi Jim,

Here is a link to the Suffolk recorders -

http://www.sogonline.org.uk/sorc/county_recorders.html

They are now using a system called Mapmate, where recorders can fill in an excel spreadsheet. A template can found here -

http://www.sogonline.org.uk/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,128/topic,15.0/ along with details.

I now use it and do one monthly to send in.

Gi

[Alan G]

Alan, the 21st Century has arrived;) Blyth is within the NTBC recording area and, since January 1st this year, observers have had the option of submitting their records on an easy-to-use spreadsheet which can be supplied on request. A quick count of observers in the latest monthly bulletin shows that 38 of the 89 observers submitting records for May chose to do this.

cheers
martin

Marvellous - I'll look into this as I'm keen on reporting sightings - want to do my bit and all that.

Thanks Martin

[Mary]

Just a thought, but wouldn't the fact that 'only 1' of any species has been seen is as important as large numbers? Continually low counts can show that certain birds are, in fact, in trouble, making all counts important over time.

[skatebirder]

I use BirdTrack all the time (and I think it is great) but my County Recorder wants records in a different format, so although he gets the BirdTrack records, he also wants my records, filtered to the appropriate list of birds, in the correct format. At least I can extract the records in almost the right format from BirdTrack. One thing I don't like is the way counties are recorded - in BirdTrack "Southampton" isn't in Hampshire (it's a unitary authority) while it is certainly in Hampshire as far as the County Recorder is concerned. What do other counties do - are any still using the "Watsonian vice-counties" which still seem to be used for botanical recording?
David

[MSA]

Just a thought, but wouldn't the fact that 'only 1' of any species has been seen is as important as large numbers? Continually low counts can show that certain birds are, in fact, in trouble, making all counts important over time.

Absolutely! However, I expect Claire was using the Starling example to show that in an area where there are regular large numbers, lots of single-bird observations simply make the Recorder's (and the Report editor's) job more time-consuming whilst adding nothing to our knowledge of the species in that area.

It's done on a species by species basis, and will be altered if circumstances dictate (eg if Starling numbers collapse in that area).

[jimbob]

Hi Jim,

Here is a link to the Suffolk recorders -

http://www.sogonline.org.uk/sorc/county_recorders.html

They are now using a system called Mapmate, where recorders can fill in an excel spreadsheet. A template can found here -

http://www.sogonline.org.uk/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,128/topic,15.0/ along with details.

I now use it and do one monthly to send in.

Gi

Cheers for that Gi, looking into it now.
Jim.