Submitting records...   
                               Download the submission program at the bottom of the page

The CBWPS is now using the Mapmate system for recording birds in the county. The advantage of this database is that it is widely used by clubs and societies throughout the country, as well as by thousands of individuals for recording everything from mosses and liverworts to cetaceans. Records can be exchanged between recorders so that large volumes of data can be downloaded onto a main database quickly and easily. In Cornwall this means that we can have a team of people imputing data and sending it to the county recorder, speeding up the lengthy process of adding every single bird record to the database.

Another major advantage of the Mapmate system is that it can import emailed Spreadsheet records provided they are submitted in the following format:

This is not as daunting as it looks, and indeed some of the columns can be left blank. The following however are important

Taxon: The scientific name – including sub-specific name for distinct sub-species, i.e. Motacilla flava flavissima

Site: Hopefully self explanatory

Gridref: CBWPS uses a 4 figure grid reference, and a comprehensive gazetteer can be found at the back of the Cornwall Bird Report. A 6 figure gird ref can also be used if preferred

VC: The county is divided into 2 vice counties. West Cornwall is VC 1 and East Cornwall is VC2. The dividing line is more or less from the Camel to the truro river. If in doubt, a rough guide is that SW grid refs are usually VC1 and SX and SS grid refs are VC2

Recorder: Again self explanatory – usually YOU

Determiner: A determiner is someone who confirms a record, so if you see a House Sparrow and can identify it yourself – you are the determiner. If someone else identifies it for you – they are the determiner.

Date: can be written as either 01.01.07 or 01/01/07 or 1^{st January 07}

Quantity: The number of birds seen. Mapmate doesn’t like estimates so c100 won’t work, however 99+ will. It’s one of the anomalies of the system!

All the other columns can be left blank, though you can fill them in if you wish to provide extra information.

The vernacular column is the common English name for a bird which you may find useful to fill in, though Mapmate will assign an English name from the Taxon. For Example – it doesn’t like Common Scoter or Common Gull so Melanitta nigra is Black Scoter and Larus canus is Mew Gull.

If you want more information on any of the other columns, or to receive a blank spreadsheet file,  email the recorder recorder@cbwps.org.uk

This is what a completed spreadsheet will look like:

If you wish you send records by post, please send to the County Recorder: Darrell Clegg, 55 Lower Fore Street, Saltash PL12 6JQ  e-mail (click): recorder
 

Please ensure that your name and address, together with the year to which the records apply, are clearly shown on the front page.

All records are of use.  Whilst not every report is included in our annual "Birds in Cornwall", they are all entered in the database, where they are available for research.  They may be used in the compilation of the Cornwall Bird Atlas. a long-term project for which data is required over a period of a number of years.

To be of the greatest value, records should contain as much of the following information as possible:

• species - English name, new or old

• date - 5.10, 5/10 or 5 Oct are all acceptable

• location - as accurate as possible, using names appearing on the Ordnance Survey maps. Grid references are vital for atlas use.

• number - individuals, pairs, singing males, etc.

• age - adult, first cal (calendar year), second cal, etc.

• sex

• direction - (flying) N,S,E,W, NW,NE, etc.

Records in the following categories are especially useful:

• first and last dates for migrants

• scarce and rare species (see below)

• counts of migrants (e.g. finches, wildfowl, gulls, thrushes, waders, seabirds, etc)

• breeding records with grid references for the following species:

Common Kestrel   Peregrine                          Grey Partridge           Common Quail    Moorhen         Oystercatcher            Northern Lapwing       Common Snipe          Common Curlew        "colonial" seabirds

Stock Pigeon        Turtle Dove             Barn Owl                Little Owl         European Nightjar Common Kingfisher    Green Woodpecker L.Sp.Woodpecker Wood Lark              Sky Lark

Sand Martin           Tree Pipit         Meadow Pipit         Grey Wagtail   Dipper             Common Redstart Whinchat        Common Stonechat Northern Wheatear Song Thrush

Mistle Thrush         Grasshopper Warbler Cetti's Warbler     Sedge Warbler       Reed Warbler       Dartford Warbler       Lesser Whitethroat   Spotted Flycatcher   Pied Flycatcher     Willow Tit

House Sparrow   Linnet                 Common Redpoll  Bullfinch         Yellowhammer            Cirl Bunting              Reed Bunting            Corn Bunting

• winter records (Nov to Feb) including a grid ref of flocks of the following species:

European Golden Plover    Northern Lapwing             Barn Owl                         Wood Lark                      Sky Lark (flocks of 50+)

Fieldfare            Redwing            House Sparrow     Goldfinch    Linnet

Yellowhammer              Cirl Bunting                 Reed Bunting             Corn Bunting

• roost records (all year) including grid ref for the species and groups listed below:

Great Cormorant            Little Egret                      Hen Harrier                     Merlin                            All waders

All gulls (200+ birds)   All terns                    Sand Martin              Barn Swallow            Pied Wagtail

All corvids                      Starling                       Finches                             Buntings

1.    Download and Install the  Record  Submission program   CLICK HERE    You only have to do this once.

 2.    Run the program by clicking the icon shown below that you will find on your desktop
                                   or running C:\cbwps\birdsbase.exe

   Help for the Submission Form

      Full help is available from within the submission program

    Entering Data

            Not all the fields have to be filled in. The essential ones have red headings.

            The best place to start is at the Common name field. Enter a few characters from the name and and you will be presented with a list of possible birds. You can select from the list or enter some more characters to refine the length of the list. Select an entry by clicking on it and the full name will be entered into the Common name field and the Scientific name into the Taxon field. The cursor will reposition to the Site field.

            Repeat the process with the first few characters of the observation site and on selecting one from the list the site, grid reference and VC will be entered into the relevant boxes. The cursor will reposition to either the Recorder field or Date field.

            The first time you run the program the recorder field will be empty so enter your name in the recorder field and press Enter. The Determiner field will be filled in with the same name. If you were not the Determiner  return to the Determiner field and change the name. On subsequent runs the recorder field will show the name used previously. If you add any other names these will be remembered.         

            The date of observation must be in the format dd/mm/yy or yyyy

            Enter the quantity. An exact exact number or an estimate in the form 35+

            In the comments field add sex, stage, behaviour etc., if required.

    Adding to the Spreadsheet

            Click on the add to spreadsheet button and the data will be transferred to the grid below. There is room for 500 records. On clicking this button you will be reminded of any missing critical information.

    Saving the Spreadsheet

            The spreadsheet is saved everytime you click the Save Spreadsheet button.  The file will be generated in the c:/cbwps directory with the file name shown in the box to the left of the button.
The existing file on the disk is OVERWRITTEN.  You may select any file name you wish, but leave the extension as .csv.

    Editing Records

           Records can be edited at any time that they are in the grid display. Click either the Edit of Delete button
           Editing  Select the line number shown in the grid display that you want to edit and the selected records will be displayed under their respective headings.
                         Edit as required and click the Update button.
           Deleting As above select the line number and click the Confirm Delete button.

    Loading a Spreadsheet

            On starting the program the last file used will be loaded with all its records.
  To change the output file either use the dropdown box and select a previously generated file or edit the filename in the box to generate a new file. The extension of the filename must be '.csv'. This facility is only available at some stages of the program.

    Exit the Program

            When you have entered all your data click the Exit button. A message will remind you of what to do next.

    E-mailing the Results

            The records should be e-mailed to the recorder by attaching the output file  'c:/cbwps/the name of the output file '  (for example 'c:/cbwps/output.csv') to an email addressed to 'records@cbwps.org.uk'

    General

            You may want to keep a copy of which records you have mailed so remember  to change the output file name next time you use the form.

            If you have any queries you can mail 'webmaster@cbwps.org.uk'