BTO/BWI Birdtrack

Woodville56

Just hoping some Boarders can explain a query regarding Birdtrack, the BTO/BWI/SOC bird recording site.
I input sightings data regularly via the Birdtrack app. My records appear on the "Explore my Records" listing no problem, but when 1 do a search for a species using the map, some of my records are not visible , although they appear on my personal/year list etc ?
Any ideas why the this is happening ?

whyulittle

Are any of them sensitive? For example, my Hen Harrier sighting don't show up in the public map. Although, my recent Raven records haven't appeared while they do for other people.

Woodville56

Maybe so, but for example, my recent Whimbrel sighting shows on my own year list (as do other species) but doesn't show up on the map when i search under whimbrel or when I browse maps for species entered in my area. The thing is that my whimbrel sightings from previous years are there ?
A few other records may be regarded as sensitive, also got hen harrier and a few others but no show on the map.
I can understand the sensitivity issue for some endangered or scarce species but would query the value of inputting such records if they are not available as a resource to other birders (via login) who may be visiting the area or looking to improve their year list etc.
Thanks for your reply whyulittle !

WildIreland

Could they need admin approval before they appear as public records... sort of a verification process. I'm not sure how it works, but have been contacted a couple of times about the occasional out-of-the-ordinary record... so there is an element of manual validation going on behind the scenes.

whyulittle

I actually missed WildIreland's reply above, but a list I submitted yesterday seems to support it.

The Little Egret doesn't show up on the map, but something common from the same list, like Swallow, does.

I've emailed the BWI contact on the BT page to see what the story is, but he's out of the office until next week. Will report back when I get a reply.

Woodville56

It's interesting that while BWI/BTO are actively promoting the use of Birdtrack to record sightings, either the system hasn't the capacity to cope with the records submitted or there is some validation required for anything other than common species. I can understand a need to validate rarities or vagrants and the need to safeguard sensitive species sites, but on several occasions over the years records I have inputted, which don't fall into any of these categories, don't appear in the online maps. It's not as if birders are likely to fabricate sightings or input inaccurate data for the sake of it ! Most birders I know would be quite conscientious in their recording, be it common species lists or the occasional scarce/ rare or sensitive record.

whyulittle

I got a reply from the Irish contact, but he doesn't know why they don't appear. He has forwarded the query on to the BTO.

Woodville56

whyulittle wrote: »

I got a reply from the Irish contact, but he doesn't know why they don't appear. He has forwarded the query on to the BTO.

Thanks for the update whyulittle ! Will be interesting what you hear back from the BTO. A number of my postings on Birdtrack still not showing up, nothing sensitive about them but still not appearing ! Both BWI and BTO emphasise the importance of inputting records to Birdtrack (with which I agree) but if for some reason they're not validating and updating the data , the value of posting lists or casuals etc is questionable . Strangely I've noticed that among a list of casual sightings submitted for a site on my patch, some appear on Birdtrack, some don't ??

whyulittle

Now, where did that tumbleweed gif go to...

I emailed the Irish lad last week to see if he had heard anything back from the UK, I'm still waiting for a reply.

whyulittle

Some success, got a reply this afternoon.

Seems to be different levels of sensitivity.

For example, Hen Harriers don't appear on the map at any time of the year.

Buzzard records that I've submitted recently (in the breeding season) do appear on the map.

And then these in-between species like Raven & Little Egret that appear on the map in winter, but not during the breeding season.

The species that you mention, Raven and Little Egret, do not appear on the map as they are deemed to be ‘sensitive’ or prone to persecution, based on recommendations from the Irish Rare breeding Bird Panel.

Both species can only be mapped at 10-km resolution in the breeding season and therefore don’t appear on the map, as the map is at 1-km resolution.

A complete list of these sensitive species and the scale at which they are to mapped can be found here:
http://www.bto.org/volunteer-surveys/birdatlas/methods/btos-rare-species-policy

In saying this, much of this is currently up for review and the hope is that in the coming months or early next year we will be in a position to review the mapping scales for all species, but more importantly we will be in a position to set ‘local’ mapping scales.

Examples might include Little Egret which may be classified as a rare breeder in Donegal and therefore would only be mapped at 10-km, but in Cork it may no longer classified as a rare breeder and can be mapped at 1-km.

Woodville56

Thanks whyulittle for update from BTO on the "missing species' from the Birdtrack Ireland maps and the BTO response to same.
Checked out the some of my records posted on Birdtrack against the "sensitive species checklist" and some not so sensitive species that have appeared on the map in other areas but not in my recorded areas . I emailed BTO and got a fairly prompt reply from them saying that they just didn't know why some if my records didn't appear despite records for the same species appearing on the Ireland map from other locations. They are to check what happened with their IT/web developers and let me know the outcome . I will keep the thread updated on any further developments !

whyulittle

Did you get a reply on this Woodville?

Likewise, I was still seeing Raven records in the breeding season in other parts of the country. However, I was told that they show because they were entered at the 10-km scale to begin with. However, records sent in at the 1-km scale, don't show up when zoomed out to the 10-km, like you might think they would.

Woodville56

whyulittle wrote: »

Did you get a reply on this Woodville?

Likewise, I was still seeing Raven records in the breeding season in other parts of the country. However, I was told that they show because they were entered at the 10-km scale to begin with. However, records sent in at the 1-km scale, don't show up when zoomed out to the 10-km, like you might think they would.

No further info back from BTO yet whyulittle.
I will post on any further info that comes to hand.