Sale of Records of Bird Data
The Fylde Bird Club maintains a database containing over one million records of birds recorded in the Fylde Recording area (Irish Sea to A6 Road / River Ribble to River Conder). All records since 1996 have been fully computerised. However, a significant amount of much older data has also been incorporated.
All the BTO WeBS counts conducted in our recording area are included in our database. For the north side of the River Ribble and the River Wyre, the fidelity of the counts is much more detailed than the data held by the BTO. This is because the counts are conducted by our members and they record birds to local sub sites that are lumped together in the BTO’s records. For example, Lytham Beach in the BTO’s records is comprised of four discrete sites in our database.
Records can be extracted from this database and supplied to commercial organisations for a fee. The fee is dependant on the number of records recovered but includes a flat starting fee and so the fee is not linear with the number of records supplied. A starting fee is included to reflect the work involved in running the search. Records are supplied in MS Excel spreadsheet form.
The data is held in Excel spreadsheet form with fields (columns) that include:
Species Name
Date
Location
Tetrad
Count
Details
An additional field exists for the OS 6 figure Grid Reference but this field is not populated for the majority of records. However, a reasonable proportion of wild goose and wild swan records do have 6 figure grid references included.
A sub Site column also exists that can assist in pinpointing sites (when it is populated).
Searches can be performed based on the Tetrad that the point of interest resides in and the neighbouring Tetrads to provide a search radius.
Tetrads are 2 km x 2 km OS map Grid Squares. This is the mapping fidelity used by the BTO (British Trust for Ornithology). The BTO’s website explains the Tetrad nomenclature in relation to the OS mapping system.
Searches can also be restricted to a given species list, date range, specific location(s), etc.
Please note that with the exception of the WeBS counts and some breeding bird studies, the data has not been systematically collected. It is submitted on an ad hoc basis by local naturalists while out bird watching. Hence, the limitations of the data must be recognised. The absence of bird records from a given site cannot be taken to mean that birds do not use that site. Many locations are private, with no public access and so few records will exist for such places, regardless of how many birds use the site.
Birdwatchers tend to record the rare and scarce species, in preference to the commoner, more numerous birds. For example, 4 Mediterranean Gulls at Skippool will be reported but the accompanying 3000 Black-headed Gulls may not be mentioned.
Any commercial organisation that is interested in obtaining a quotation for the supply of bird records for a site or area within the Fylde recording area should email fyldebirdclub@gmail.com outlining the request. The location, search radius, species list and time span should be specified.
All funds generated by this work will be used for conservation projects, which include supplemental winter feeding schemes for farmland birds, nest box production, common tern colony support and seed strip planting.