Worcestershire Record No. 20 April 2007 pp. 4-5
Please be aware that this article was produced in 2007 and so some of this information may now be out of date. If you have any queries please contact WBRC
Compiled by Martin Skirrow for the Worcestershire Recorders Committee.
(We aim to up-date the information given below at regular intervals as an aid to everyone sending with identification problems and with sending records to the Worcestershire Biological Records Centre. If you would like to be added to the list (or removed!) please contact the WBRC office. Ed)
It is stating the obvious to say that submitting records to the WBRC is important - it is implicit in the title. As a Worcestershire Recorders subscriber you can make valuable contributions, and the purpose of this appeal is to encourage more of you to report by making the procedure as simple as possible. Here are some points.
1) It is appreciated that the collection and submission of records requires a conscious effort and discipline. The pocket notepad (invariably in the wrong garment!), or the dictaphone are invaluable to this end and we should make a habit of carrying such items.
2) Records of common species are needed just as much as scarcer species. It is amazing, indeed absurd, how many squares have no record of common creatures such as the Brown Rat.
3) Identification can sometimes be problematic despite the availability of excellent books, monographs and leaflets. Fortunately there are experts who are prepared to give general advice and help with identification and they are listed on the back of this sheet.
4) As a Worcestershire Recorders subscriber, you will have a basic knowledge and competence that could easily be extended to cover lesser known groups of organism that are poorly represented in our database. There are some exemplary examples of self taught experts among us. Now there's a challenge!
HOW TO REPORT
For any one species it is adequate to report only once from one site in one year. There are exceptions to this rule, for example unusual second broods of butterflies and moths, and rare or scarce species.
Use a basic format:
Recorder's name and contact number/address/email.
Determiner's name (the person who had the skill to identify the specimen) especially when species are difficult to identify or in cases of unusual or rare occurrences - can be the same person as the recorder.
Species name (ideally scientific name as well as common name)
Place name (nearest town/village)
Location (6-figure National Grid reference, or 8-figure if desirable)
Date (ideally day/month/year, but just month and year is acceptable - better than nothing!)
Estimates of number or abundance and comments are useful, BUT in separate columns please.
Send to: WBRC, preferably by e-mail:
Records may also be sent by post to: WBRC, Lower Smite Farm, Hindlip, Worcester WR3 8SZ
For multiple records, an attachment displayed as a spreadsheet greatly facilitates entering into the database. A spreadsheet template (based on Microsoft Excel) is available from WBRC: www.wbrc.org.uk
Bird reports
The WBRC does not require general records of birds (breeding records are encouraged though), but your records would be greatly valued by the BTO Birdtrack system; for instructions visit www.birdtrack.net The BTO automatically sends your Birdtrack records (with your permission) to the county recorder (Andy Warr).
However, WBRC does want records for its Breeding Bird Survey 2006. This is limited to nine bird species of conservation concern. Special forms are available from the WBRC and further information is in this issue of Worcestershire Record.
Contact for advice on bird reporting: Harry Green 01386 710377, e-mail: zen130501@zen.co.uk who also organises BTO surveys in Worcestershire and is always keen to hear from anyone wishing to help with these.
CONTACTS FOR HELP WITH IDENTIFICATION
Please contact WBRC directly for information as the details listed below have not been updated since 2007
Mammals
WBRC office 01905 759759, e-mail: records@wbrc.org.uk
Simon Wood, the WBRC Manager, is usually available to give advice.
Amphibians & Reptiles
WBRC (as above) and Alan Shepherd.
Fish
Phil Hickley and Alan Starkey who belong to the National Fisheries Technical
Team based at: Environment Agency, Mance House, Hoo Farm Industrial Estate,
Kidderminster, DY11 7RA can be contacted on 01562 534160
Molluscs (Slugs & snails)
John Meiklejohn 01386 750383
Harry Green 01386 710377 e-mail: zen130501@zen.co.uk
Spiders
Butterflies
Mike Williams e-mail: mike@stagborough.fsnet.co.uk
Moths
Dave Grundy 0121 4465446
Michael Southall e-mail:
Beetles
WBRC (as above). John Meiklejohn 01386 750383 (Specimen preferred)
Noble Chafer Gnorimus nobilis
Appeals for sightings have appeared in many issues of Worcestershire
Record and records are needed
Harry Green 01386 710377, e-mail:
Bees, wasps, ants etc Hymenoptera)
Geoff Trevis 01905 774952, e-mail:
Galls
John Meiklejohn 01386 750383
Dragonflies
WBRC (as above) and/or Mike Averill 01562 69144, e-mail: MikeTAverill@aol.com
Grasshoppers & crickets (Orthoptera)
Gary Farmer (County Recorder)
Land caddis Enoicyla pusilla
Harry Green 01386 710377, e-mail: zen130501@zen.co.uk
True flies (Diptera)
Hoverflies
Harry Green 01386 710377, e-mail:
Bugs (Hemiptera), all other insects & arthropods (woodlice,
millipedes, etc)
John Partridge 01527 544952, e-mail: john.partridge@blueyonder.co.uk
John
Meiklejohn 01386 750383 (Specimens preferred for most species).
Flowering plants, ferns & Charophytes
John Day (County Recorder)
01527 833748, , e-mail: sotor@tiscali.co.uk
Bert Reid 01386 553483, e-mail: bert_reid@talk21.com
Mosses & Liverworts
Tessa Carrick 01527 8731350, e-mail:
Lichens
Joy Ricketts e-mail:
Fungi
John Meiklejohn 01386 750383
Grassland Waxcaps
Rosemary Winnall 01299 266489 email: rosemary@wyreforest.net
Myxomycetes
Joy Ricketts e-mail: jricketts@globalnet.co.uk
Ancient Tree Register
Becky Lashley at WBRC email: becky@wbrc.org.uk
Harry Green 01386 710377, e-mail:
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