Methods of recording birds (2 Viewers)

[ChaffChiff]

I've been using a notebook to record my sightings but i'm not sure how scalable this is as an absolute amateur because eventually i'll have to get a new notebook. I usually write in the place, date and birds i've seen and as a result it isn't to locate a particular place as it is purely in chronological order.

Can anyone suggest a better more scalable and practical solution please?

 

[foresttwitcher]

Perhaps there may be some tips for you in this thread: My new lifer list - advice please and musings!

 

[Sangahyando]

I've been using a notebook to record my sightings but i'm not sure how scalable this is as an absolute amateur because eventually i'll have to get a new notebook. I usually write in the place, date and birds i've seen and as a result it isn't to locate a particular place as it is purely in chronological order.

Can anyone suggest a better more scalable and practical solution please?

There's nothing wrong with using a notebook for field observations - the way you've described using it is pretty much standard practice among birders and it helps with improving one's skills (particularly you write down observation details when looking at difficult cases) and keeping track of particular sightings in case you want to create a detailed life list at some point. For the latter purpose, there are many possibilities, some of which are detailed in the thread linked by foresttwitcher above.

 

[kb57]

If you record place, date, and birds recorded then when you wanted you could transfer all of your observations to eBird. Numbers of birds seen and the times you started and finished are even better. But as @Sangahyando said, there's nothing wrong with notebooks, they allow you to make observation notes you can return to later (sometimes years later - with a better field guide, I identified birds a couple of years ago from descriptions I'd made in India in the 1980s).