Do you keep a birding list? I know there are apps on phones but I'm thinking more in a book, or a spreadsheet on computer or something.
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I keep a birding list but it's part of my data for illustrating the changes to bird populations on my property, kathiemt. I don't know if you want to go that far. If you simply want to record the species you've seen in different locations you could simply use worksheets for the locations in a workbook in Excel or similar. The species you see could be recorded in a column in each of the worksheets.
I have a female note book, with drawings on how to identify a bird. There’s also a list of birds iv seen.
Wimmera mally region, Vic.
Thanks, yes, I've begun a spreadsheet. Got 36 species on the list so far but know there are others I've forgotten to add.
What's a 'female' note book?
Lol oops. My iPad corrected what I was typing. I meant feild not book.
Wimmera mally region, Vic.
Looks like you're well on track, kathiemt.
By the way, there are various environment projects & citizen science groups which welcome data collected by people such as yourself.
I would recommend birdata. PC program as well as App.
And/or Spreadsheet: BirdLife_Australia_Working_List to help keep track.
Bird Guide book is essential to familiarize with local species ofc.
I have also used Bird Guide brochure of area and just highlighted species spotted.
Thanks, what kind of data should I be keeping? Other than what I've seen?
Thanks AJ. I didn't realise Birddata did a PC version. I'll check it out. I do now have a copy of that spreadsheet you mention and have modified it for my use here at home.
Pizzey & Knight phone app is used for my life list of photos and first sightings. I then use the the e-bird app while out and about to establish exactly where I walked and what I saw. Location can be important in the future. Also record the sex if you can and if there are chicks or a nest.
I use Birdlife Australia Working list as a master list in Excel but remember it gets updated occasionally eg Variegated Fairywren split to Purple-backed Fairywren and VFw in which location (West or East of Great Dividing Range) was important.
A photo is my confirmation and proof of ID as in the field there may not be time to follow it up when they fly off. As suggested the local Bird Guides are a great resource and easily marked off. One not on that list can be worth more study.
The main thing is to enjoy it
Sue
Kathiemt, the data you record depends on what you want to achieve or what you're curious about. For example, I'm curious about the effects on bird species & their populations of ecologically restoring our property. By keeping records of not only the species I see on & near our property but also the maximum number of birds in each species I see each week. By recording this data in Excel I can produce (with the aid of Mr Excel) charts showing trends in population numbers of the various species I've seen. I can see, for example, that the abundance of Superb Fairy-wrens has increased over 32 years.
Perhaps giving time to think through exactly what you want to achieve might help in your design of your data collection.
Just a thought: with climate change in full swing I imagine there would be value in your recording species along with their locations. The spread or contractions of species' ranges would be useful data which might positively impact government climate policy if the data fell into the right hands!
So true Woko. Our recent travels have demonstrated the devastating impact of the drought... birding was quite difficult with species not present in same numbers or areas as inpast years.
Sue.
While true, it is not officially recognised in Australian Taxonomy yet. It will most likely come in the next master list update.
P-B FW change
birdlife Australia Taxonomic approach
"In a very small number of cases, species classifications in the Australian list differ from those on the BirdLife International list because revisions have not yet been fully considered by the BirdLife International Taxonomic Working Group. In these cases BirdLife Australia works with the BirdLife International Taxonomic Working Group to bring the International and Australian lists into line."
Thanks for that Sue and Woko. Perhaps I should add some columns to indicate dates, numbers, etc. I didn't want to go over the top but did want to see how many types we see here at our place.
I do know that we hadn't seen fairy wrens and bower birds for the past 3 years, not because of climate, but because a neighbour's property got cleared before it was put up for sale. We were horrified when we discovered what was happening - too late for us to speak up and say there was a bower and nests in the area they had just cleared. The elderly neighbour's family had come from interstate and they would have had no idea what was there.
Thankfully, just recently, I've gotten photos of a male wren and a female bower bird that have been in our garden just this past week. They've come back! Coincidentally we've been turning our former sheep paddock into a garden for wildlife, and the new neighbour next door is a landscaper and gardener and he's done a lot to the property as well. So happy to see the birds come back!
Although it's sad that ignorance led to the destruction of natural habitat you've done my heart a power of good, kathiemt, to learn that restoration work is being done. And you & the birds are reaping the rewards.
Yes, very sad but was probably what helped my husand and I take the action that we did. I'm currently training to be a guide for the Gardens for Wildlife Program here in our area which is giving me lots to learn so we benefit from that too. The end result will be a beautiful garden with lots of wildlife here - something we can leave for our children, grandchildren and others.
Thanks AJ. I cannot agree more with Woko and good on you Kathient.
Although the Birdata app is a good app for keeping track of the birds you've seen, I only started using it recently so I still have a spreadsheet on Excel. I use it because I add Columns such as 'Bird Name,' 'Location,' 'Date Seen,' 'Notes' and a couple of other things. I believe it to be quite useful to use both, so as to keep as much information as possible.