In West Wales, as across the UK, there are an army of local amateurs recording all sorts of species information. Many pass their species records on to the local county recorder or local or national group, society or recording scheme.
The county recorder is generally regarded as the local expert for a specific taxonomic group. Amateur recorders that pass their records on to the relevant county recorder contribute to a valuable county database. As the local expert the county recorder will verify records and will also be able to advise and help with identification. County recorders voluntarily dedicate a considerable amount of time and effort to compiling and collating an accurate county database. Such datasets are a valuable source of information locally and nationally.
Here is a list of county recorders for the West Wales region
WWBIC relies on volunteer recorders across the region. If you are interested in recording wildlife but are not sure how here’s a quick summary of what information is required to make a record:
Who – the name of the recorder
What – what species was seen, if unsure take a photo or jot down a description on a piece of paper
Where – where was the species seen, a location name as well as a grid reference if possible, the more precise this can be the better.
When – the date the species was seen
Comments – this isn’t essential but can be useful, was it a male or female, describe it’s behaviour or how many there were.
Here is WWBIC’s recommended data format for compiling records
At WWBIC we value all records whether it is of something common that is seen every day or a real rarity to the region. We find that common species are under recorded in the region but feel it’s as important to know what’s happening to our commoner species as well as the rare and protected ones.