The Project Recording Policy Explained

On each site transect visit I attempt to produce a complete list of species observed so that common and familiar species are recorded as well as 'interesting' ones. This can also reveal species that are missing from a site as well as those present which can be important.

Producing a detailed 100% list of species on a site from every visit is clearly not possible for a number of reasons. To provide some consistency to what I do I have a defined 'recording policy' that I try to follow:

Mammals, reptiles and amphibians:
This is a difficult group of creatures to monitor without utilising hides and traps, neither of which I use. I record casual observations of any encountered and, sometimes, I may include species where there is evidence of a species presence on a site for feeding or breeding purposes (eg: mole hills).

Birds:
I record all bird species present on a site that I see or hear. I only record those that are using the site for feeding and/or breeding and not those flying overhead. There are exceptions to this rule where an unusual species is seen or where species obviously nesting close by are feeding over the site (eg: swallows and martins).

Insects:
Identification is the limiting factor for me with many insects. Some species can only be identified under microscopic examination, others need to be caught in a net or trap. Many are never seen or fly away as soon as someone approaches. With insects I just do the best I can ...

Flowering Plants:
Whilst plants that produce flowers and fruits/seeds (including grasses, sedges and rushes) can be identified even if the flower/fruit is not present by looking at leaves and stems in general I only record them once the flower is out or the fruit/seed has appeared. There are two reasons for this:

To use only leaf and stem can be unreliable in some species and the presence of the flower can be the deciding factor
Many people are only interested in these plants when they have a 'pretty' flower and as part of the purpose of this project is to provide a website is to help people find or identify species then I wish to show when that plant can be seen in flower
There is another issue with flowering plants, that of 'garden escapes' and Sidmouth had many of these. My policy for this is to:

• Record native species growing in ‘cultivated’ areas (eg: flower beds in parks and gardens)
  Record naturalised species growing in non-cultivated areas

Trees and shrubs:
Trees are a permanent feature on a site (unless felled!) so recording them on every visit would be somewhat pointless. I tend to record them when in flower or when bearing seed or fruit.

There are many introduced species of trees and shrubs in and around the Sidmouth area and these are extensively documented on the excellent Sidmouth Arboretum website. Only a few of my chosen sites of natural interest feature these trees and so the number included within the project database is limited to these.

Non-flowering 'plants':
Ferns, mosses, lichens and the like are usually present all year round and I only record them occasionally for a site and this is often in the winter when they are more visible when there is less competition from other plants. I will record them outside of winter if it is my first visit to a site or if it is the first time I have found a species on a site.

Fungi:
Fungi are difficult for the non-specialist and tend to be seasonal. I record only those species where I can be reasonably sure of my identification. I do not pick species up to inspect them which is necessary in some species, I prefer to leave specimens unidentified if necessary to allow others to enjoy them.