Submission of records
Why Submit your Records to the Durham Bird Club?
At whatever age we started birdwatching, most of us also began keeping notes of our sightings. Initially these are usually intended only for our own benefit and pleasure. This is fine in itself, but clearly has its limitations and most people recognise the value of doing something constructive with their records.
By submitting our many individual records to the Durham Bird Club, it is possible for the Club to build up a picture of the species present in the area, their distribution, movements, breeding success, etc. By recording details of the sites, the Club is also able to assess the ornithological value of particular localities and give guidance to local authorities in their consideration of development proposals, backed by hard data rather than guesswork.
Records submitted to the County Recorder are used by the Club to prepare the Lek County Summary for all of its members. The records also form the basis of the Club's Annual Report - `Birds in Durham` - the definitive record of ornithological information for the area covered by the Club. The annual report is intended to be an accurate benchmark statement on the birds of our area at a particular time against which other records can be compared to give a historical perspective. In order to ensure that readers and users of the report have confidence in its contents all rare and unusual records are first considered by the Records Committee appointed by the Club.
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What to Report
Contributors may like to study a few old Leks and Annual Reports to gain an understanding of what information is required. The bulk of records concern numbers, distribution, arrival and departure dates and movement of our common, regular resident and visiting species. Rarities are exciting but are the icing on a very large cake made up by the more typical species of our County's avifauna. Rarities are dealt with in a different way that is explained below.
There are no hard and fast rules on what to report. Two or three Blue Tits visiting your garden regularly would not be worth reporting. However, a winter roost of 12 in an old Wren's nest would be. Common species in unusual circumstances, or on odd dates, are also noteworthy. In fact too few record cards are currently submitted for some of our commonest birds, such as Great Tit, Robin or Collared Dove, providing us with an incomplete picture.
Quantitative and comparative data on breeding species are amongst the most important in the ornithological field and contributors are encouraged to submit this information. However, in all bird recording, the welfare of the birds and their habitat must be the first consideration and this is especially true with breeding species.
Confidential Records
| Occasionally contributors may see a species in a locality that they feel should be kept confidential. These records may be submitted to the County Recorder in confidence, marking your report `Confidential`. Reports of scarce breeding species are dealt with in a similar way. A list of these species is reproduced in Schedule C. All reports in this category are specially stamped `Confidential` in red, and are stored in such a way as to ensure that only those with bona fide reasons have access to the records. All Club records are held securely in Sunderland Museum; the confidential species enjoy added security. You should be aware that confidential records may need to be discussed by the County Records Committee before they are accepted, but contributors can request that site names are withheld or given vaguely by the Recorder in such meetings. Any confidential record published will be given only as a general County or as an area total. Where appropriate RSPB and English Nature may be informed under the confidential restriction, but normally only with the prior consent of the observer. |  |
How to submit your records
The task of maintaining the ornithological archive lies with the County Recorder. The County Recorder has a particular responsibility for collating all data submitted to the club and liaising with the national rarities committee (BBRC). Special forms are available for recording the supporting description notes and circumstances of any rarity you see and the County Recorder can give you advice on how to complete the documents.
All other records should be submitted using either:
- record sheets (supplied by the Club and available from the County Recorder; send a SAE for a further supply of sheets)
- electronic spreadsheet template (available from the County Recorder or downloadable from the DBC website, Downloads page )
- BirdTrack, the online system developed by the BTO. The homepage for BirdTrack can be accessed HERE. This is the preferred method, as all data is automatically shared with the DBC, BTO and RSPB.
Supporting notes may still be necessary for some of these species - especially locally rare species - and these can be given on the backs of the cards or by attaching a photocopy of your field notes.
Record Sheets
Please follow these guidelines in completing your sheets, either on paper or on the spreadsheet:-
- Please write clearly and be as precise and concise as possible.
- Write the observer's name(s) - full initials, surname(s) and address.
- Enter the full date(s) of sightings - day, month and year.
- Enter the locality of the sighting. Remember some place names are duplicated in the county and will need some additional information e.g. Hamsterley (Derwent Valley). Some little known, or rarely recorded, place name should also be accompanied by the name of the nearest large village or town. The best possible data, which also avoids confusion, is the grid reference. See also the section on "Grid References", below.
- Enter under `Notes` any relevant details such as numbers, age, sex and where appropriate direction of flight, behaviour, etc. Please be as concise as possible - make relevant facts easy to read. For semi-rarities i.e. those which are locally scarce or unusual, a brief description of the identification and circumstances is appreciated.
- If you visit some localities more than once during the month, a summary of observations is more helpful than a long list of dates and counts. This is particularly the case for commoner species.
- It is not necessary to complete your records in any particular order. You can do it by species, site or date; whatever is easiest for you.
Once you have written or typed your records sheet, please remember to send it in on a monthly basis, preferably by 14th of the following month. This gives the County Recorder time to sort all records for the main DBC database and spreads the workload through the year. The email address for sending records electronically is dbc.records@hotmail.co.uk.
If sending your records by a paper record sheet, please seal your envelope well and use enough stamps to cover the postage. Supplies of spare record sheets are available from the County Recorder, but please ensure that your SAE has enough stamps to cover a 'large letter'. Additional stocks of record sheets are also available at indoor meetings.