Does anyone keep a log book? Did you buy one specifically made for that purpose? Or just use a notebook? Or do you have some other method where you keep a record of what you've seen and where and when?
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Hi Kathie
I record (on sheets originally produced by Birds SA & adapted for my purposes) the maximum numbers in each species I see each week. I then take an average maximum per month for each species & plot this data on graphs for each species. (Or I did until 2 years ago. I need to bring my graphs up to date). That way I can see what the trend is for each species & try to form hypotheses for the increase or decline in numbers. E.g. there's been a marked decline in Black-shouldered Kite numbers which I put down to revegetation projects in my area reducing the amount of grassland over which the Kites like to hunt. This has implications for future revegetation & conservation projects in my area which may need to focus on restoring areas of native grasslands. Or it might help determine the density of plantings in revegetation projects.
Thus records kept can prove useful in determining land management practices.
Good question kathiemt .... there are a number of computer programs/apps available for recording bird sightings. I have not tried any myself, and would be interested if anyone on the forum can recommend any particular ones. Some, according to their websites, offer a wide range of useful features.
Hey Woko, I hadn't thought about it in those terms, but clearly if many of us were tracking it that way it would help our local regions with such information. Thanks for sharing.
Yes, I'm aware there are computer based ones WhistlingDuck, but hoping that perhaps there is a book form I could carry with me, rather than reinventing the wheel. But perhaps I'm just going to need to buy a notebook and rule in some columns and use that.
Kathiemt
Selby, Victoria
Hi kathiemt,
I've started using the eBird app on my phone to submit my observations to a global database. It goes towards birding research and it keeps track of my sightings. I literally plot the location a map, the time, type the species, and it's all done in a couple of minutes. And it's free!
thanks, perhaps I'll give it another try. I do have it but it seemed to want to find everything in the US and wouldn't find my location.
Kathiemt
Selby, Victoria
I have begun to keep a log of birds that i see, but it's only because as a beginner i am trying to remember and just learn to recognise more birds, its helping me to notice a lot more.
elizabeth
And how are you keeping that log? Interested in how you do it.
Kathiemt
Selby, Victoria
I started keeping a log last year on an excel spreadsheet and am adding to it this year. It is very basic but when we moved into our new home, I wanted to track species of bird on our acreage property. I'll check out the apps. Do you enter data immediately?
I'm still struggling to find a suitable option for me which is why I asked. Curious to see what others do.
Kathiemt
Selby, Victoria
Mine's just a notebook and pencil! Very basic, I just note down as much description as I can, then research it later, if i need to.
Elizabeth
elizabeth
Sounds like a good method for identifying birds, Elizabeth. And rather carbon neutral, too! Writing down as much descriptive information as possible, including behaviour, what the bird might be feeding on, the locality, time of day or night, what other birds it might be associating with & where in the vegetation strata you saw it, is an excellent approach.
I am learning a lot, learning to look.
elizabeth
My interest is in birds in our own yard (five acres). I downloaded a list of species native to our area, have used the bird finder here to find out a bit about the species native to our area, and hopefully be able to identfy what I see, and I spend time nearly every day photographing what I can as well as just observing.
so I created a log that lists the species likely to visit the area and I added a space for a date range at the top of the page since I am always in the same area location does not vary, so in week starting ______ I can just make a mark against each species seen each time it is seen. When I can I photograph as many bird as I can. I am not a great photographer and I use a bridging camera which has features of the more expensive slr style cameras and also ease of use of the cheaper cameras. I wont ever be at professional standards like some of the photographers here, but I enjoy photographing species that are new to me, also the photographing some of behaviours and of course over years I get to build up my knowledge one at a time and get to know the calls, the timing of visits, this year I am going out bird watching at different times of day and it is paying off because I am seeing more variety each week.
In the last few years I have sighted and identified 81 of the 120 or so species that are likely to visit our area, and I have photographed 61 of those species. This year so far my count is 40 sighted and identified and 25 photographed.
So I would suggest that you work out a logging system that works for you because it does become personal. Whatever works for you is the right way!
Happy Birding!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/138588528@N02/
Thanks for sharing that info Wollemi. There were two bird posters here when we shifted in 6 years ago and most of what's on the posters I've seen around here (Selby, Vic) but I've also seen lots of others and photographed them. But I'm going to start keeping a record too - just wasn't sure how to go about doing that.
Kathiemt
Selby, Victoria