How to make a wildlife record
Have you seen a bird in your garden, a badger on the road, have you got squirrels on your bird table? Do you ever wonder who to tell?
Herefordshire Biological Records Centre (HBRC) are always keen to hear from you about any species, common or rare, that you have seen to help us build a picture of the wildlife in Herefordshire.
If you want to tell us about species you've seen, first you must make sure you have the right information.
Who
That's you! Your name or the name of the person who saw the record and contact details. We need this so that if we have any questions about the record we can get in touch with you.
What
Tell us what you saw and give as much information as possible about what it was doing. For example 'I saw a badger dead on the road' or 'There is a sparrowhawk nesting in the tree at the bottom of my garden' or 'Otter footprints in the mud by the river'.
If you aren't sure what you saw but you took a photograph of it please include this. We can then send the photo to an expert who might be able to identify it - you never know, it could be something that hasn't been recorded here before.
Where
A six or more figure grid reference is best but don't worry if you don't know the grid reference. An address, postcode or a description of where you saw it, for example 'outside the post office in Breinton' helps us to work out the grid reference so the more information you can give us about where you saw it the better.
When
Try to make this as detailed as possible and include the day, month and year.
You then need to send HBRC the above information so that we can add the record to our database. We are happy to provide you with recording forms so that you can keep a record of anything you see.
You can email us on hbrc@herefordshire.gov.uk You can ring us on 01432 261538 You can send us you records by post to HBRC, PO Box 230, Hereford, HR1 2ZB.
HBRC are happy to provide you with paper or electronic recording forms so that you can keep a record of anything you see. We look forward to receiving records from you.
You can also download a record form.