If you would like something different to do during the current coronavirus crisis, please consider helping with our new HOS Archival Bird Record Digitization Project.
HOS has maintained a computerised database of all its bird records since 1993. We have recently upgraded this to a web-based system which is maintained by our database manager Alan Cox.
The new project is to digitize all our earlier records back to the 1950s. This will provide us with a 60 year plus time span of data which will enable us to more readily examine the status changes of our birds – not only in distribution and numbers but also in things such as arrival dates of summer migrants, timings of movements of passage migrants etc.
The records fall into several categories:
- Annual records used to compile the bird report, usually by species
- Data from wildfowl counts, bird of estuaries enquiry and individual species surveys, e.g. herons and nightingales.
- Diaries, notebooks and logbooks from individual observers or sites.
The project involves transcribing the basic data for each observation – i.e. species, location, date, number, comments and observer names – into an excel spreadsheet. Full instructions will be provided and the archival materials will be sent to you by a secure delivery method. If you would be interested in helping please contact me get more information.
If you are interested, please contact John Clark (Johnclark50@zoho.com)