A new Sightings Recording system has been created for local birders to log their sightings. All recent records are displayed and users can view and edit their own records.
All Contributors will need to register to use the site but registration is free and membership of the Club is not a pre-condition (although it is encouraged!).
To complete the online registration , please click this link Register Here
If you would like to watch a video tutorial on how to complete the registration process, please click this link Registration Video
When you have registered, log in, then, in the top menu, click ‘Sightings‘ then ‘Add Bird Record‘ from the drop down list.
If you would like to watch a video tutorial on how to Log In to the website, please click this link Logging In Video
Note: if you see a message ‘ You must be logged in to add records’ (even though you are logged in), then refresh your browser window while the message is displayed. If this doesn’t work, clear your browser’s cache. This should clear the problem.
Procedure for Entering Records
- If you would like to watch a video tutorial on how to enter sightings records, please click this link Add sightings Video
- Fill out all the required fields below, then hit the Green ‘Add Record’ button at the bottom of the page.
- Now you can enter another record for another species for the same Date and Location as the previous entry. Note: when you enter the next bird species, the previous Grid Ref will be retained, if it doesn’t apply to the next species, delete it or enter a new one.
- When you have entered all records for one location, and want to enter some for a new location, edit the Location field to the new location. Continue until all your records are entered.
- When you have entered all your records, click the Blue text near the page top that reads ‘My records to check and submit’
- Next you will see a summary of all your sightings that you have just entered. Here you can check they are correct, edit them if needed and then hit the Green ‘Confirm’ button to enter them.
- If you move off the ‘Add Bird Record’ page, without completing the Check / Confirm process, your records will remain in limbo but will not be lost, even if you log out. When you go back to the ‘Add Bird Record’ page, you will be able to complete the check and confirm process. Only then, will they be added to the dataset.
- To see and edit your own records at a later date, go to Sightings / My Records.
Guidelines for Filling out the ‘Add Bird Record’ Form
Observer field: if you don’t enter anything, your name will appear against the record. If you wish to conceal your name, type in a dash ‘-‘ . If you would rather see your initials against the record, type them in, e.g. ‘QXL’. Whatever you type in here will overwrite your name.
Date field: defaults to today but you can click on it and change it.
Location: start typing the location name and a drop down list will appear from where you pick the location.
In the unlikely event that an appropriate location isn’t listed, please email fyldebirdclub@gmail.com for advice. Please note, the system is only for Fylde records from the area bounded by the Irish Sea, A6 Road, River Ribble and River Conder.
Species: start typing the species name and a drop down list will appear from where you pick the species. In the unlikely event that the required species isn’t listed, please email fyldebirdclub@gmail.com for advice.
Count and Accuracy should be self explanatory.
Age / Sex: can be left blank or enter appropriate text: e.g. male, female, juv, 1st w, 3rd s, etc. Free format.
Note: can be left blank or type in other information, e.g. precise location information, ‘flew over’, ‘on pasture’, bird’s behaviour, ‘with pinkfeet’, etc. Please do NOT use this or any other field to express complaints, opinions or anything else unrelated to the bird record.
Notable Tick box: if this is selected the record will have a green indicator applied to it in ‘Recent Sightings’.
Sensitive Tick box: Please don’t select this yet. A change is yet to be applied to how it works. When active, the record will be invisible and will not appear in ‘Recent Sightings’.
Precise Grid Ref: can be left blank but, if available, enter the six figure Ordnance Survey SD code eg SD435342. This is particularly useful for wildfowl and waders on fields and birds on large sites or vague locations, e.g. Pilling or Lytham Moss. For birds at sea or well defined sites like Marton Mere, it’s less important, unless attempting to offer a very precise location for a rarity.
To find the Grid Reference, this site is very useful: Grab a Grid Reference
Note: when you enter the next bird species, the previous Grid Ref will be retained, if it doesn’t apply to the next species, delete it or enter a new one.
Please don’t enter anything in this field other than an SD code.
Notes
Please enter all sightings. even if they have appeared on WhatsApp Groups or other information services.
This system is for all bird records regardless of their rarity status.
Please don’t enter a record if someone else has already done so, unless a higher count or extra information is provided. An exception may be to back up a rarity record only seen by a few others.
If you also enter records of common birds in Birdtrack, then please leave them off this service.