Why record?
Urbanisation, habitat loss, and intensive agriculture have had long-term far reaching effects on wildlife populations and these threats continue.
Recording wildlife is vital in helping us understand the changing patterns of populations to aid their long-term survival and to inform management, the planning system and the decisions taken by developers, organisations and individuals which affect our environment.
As well as recent records, WSBRC maintains a large historic record of many species types, helping us to understand changes over time. Bringing peer-based historic records into modern data storage is an ongoing task which we need help with.
Our valued Recorders
We couldn’t help protect Wiltshire’s wildlife and habitats without people like you getting involved and submitting records to us. It doesn’t matter if you are an expert or just starting out. Your records are still important to us. Recording can be simply the things seen in your garden or local area, or part of a dedicated project that requires regular surveys. You can record in as many ways as you like and we can support you with expert knowledge and training.
New to recording?
Recording can be easy and enjoyed by anyone, at any age, with as little as a pencil, paper, a bit of patience and a willingness to learn. As a minimum, there are the 4 Ws:
- What? Either the scientific (Latin) and/or English name (if there is one)
- Where? A precise location of the sighting and at least a six figure grid reference
- When? The date of the sighting (day, month, year)
- Who? Give a name of who saw it. If you did not identify it, also give us the determiner’s name.
If you want to improve your skills then nothing beats practical experience in the field with others. Attending an identification course or a wildlife walk is a gentle way to begin. Even with limited wildlife knowledge, you can still send in valuable records of species you know how to identify.
Wiltshire has a great network of recording groups and societies who can provide much needed support and mentorship as skills develop. There are also a wide range of online resources and identification tools.
Taking Part: Volunteer surveys
WSBRC supports many survey and monitoring schemes. Some are managed by us, some are managed in conjunction with other organisations such as Wiltshire Wildlife Trust. All of these surveys rely on volunteers to collect and send in the data.
Some of the monitoring schemes are long term with commitment ranging from one survey a year to one a month. If enough sites are regularly monitored, we can begin to build up a picture of the changing face of Wiltshire. Other surveys may simply require your casual records to fill in the gaps in knowledge of a species’ national distribution.
Join in
Find wildlife surveys or schemes on the NBN page.
Take part in one of our Volunteer Surveys.
Find online resources at the FSC ID Resource Finder.
Learn more
Find out about our network of local experts on the County Recorders page.
Want to submit your records? Find out more on our Submit Records page.