Why record wildlife?
By collecting together all the wildlife information for Berkshire in one place, we can help inform research and conservation activities across the county. Even the common and widespread species are important to record so that we can develop a picture over time and across the region of what is happening to our wildlife, which is particularly important in these times of changing climate and rural policies.
What is a record?
As a basic rule of thumb, a record is 'who, what, where and when'.
Who – the person that made the observation, we need the name as we can attribute that record to an individual and if the sighting is unusual or the where information is not clear it means we can contact the recorder for further details
What – What was seen, common or scientific names or both can be used. Additional information such as the number seen, activities (such as nesting, breeding or feeding) can also provide valuable additional detail. Signs of animal presence can also be recorded e.g. badger sett or otter spraints.
Where – as a minimum we would like a six figure grid reference (eg. SU675475) to help us more accurately locate where the animal was seen. There are several ways of generating a grid reference from looking at Ordnance Survey maps, using the Ordnance Survey website or using Streetmap you can put in a postcode and convert the coordinates to give you the grid reference.
Please also supply the location, either a site name if recorded there or the name of the nearest village, road or farm to help us validate the record – i.e. check that the grid reference makes sense.
When – the date when the observation was made. If the exact date is not available then the month and year is fine.
How to submit your records:
To submit multiple records, use the Thames Valley Environmental Records Centre (TVERC) Electronic Recording Form, a simple excel spreadsheet, split into the different taxomonic groups so specialists doing discrete species surveys can save time typing out the scientific names and help keep their records in a compatible format with our databases.
You can print a Wildlife Recording Form to take with you as you record, then enter your records using the Electronic Recording Form or post them to TVERC.
If you are unsure of your species identification please make a note of this on record so TVERC can check or ask a county recorder to confirm the likelihood of your identification.
It is intended that the submitted records will be added to the computer database at TVERC. Wildlife information from this database may be passed to third parties but personal details relating to recorders will not be passed on without prior permission being given by the individual.
Use of records submitted to TVERC
Information submitted on this form may be collated and disseminated manually or electronically, including the Internet and used for environmental decision-making, education, research and other public benefit uses.
Personal Details
Your name is requested as this forms an integral part of the record(s) you submit. Your contact details are needed in case TVERC need more information about particularly important records. Your name will be entered on computer with the records to identify you as the contributor and to aid data management should you submit future records. Your name (but not any other contact details) may be passed to third parties alongside your records to identify you as the source of the data in copies or extracts of the database carried out in accordance with TVERC policy - no other personal details will be divulged to third parties.
For further information or to submit your records, please contact TVERC.