How to Record

You can record things you see regularly, for example birds in your garden or standout species, such as ones you haven't seen before or you think are rare. Cofnod are interested in all wildlife sightings and sharing them with us means there's a permanent record of what you've seen and it can be used by others to help wildlife conservation.

A wildlife record consists of four essential elements:

You can add other information to your wildlife record, such as how many you saw, whether it was male or female, or add a photo. If someone other than the original recorder identified the species (from a sample or photograph) then please enter this detail in the Determiner field. Sometimes specific extra detail is required, particularly for bat records. All this information helps make the record more useful and more likely to be accepted by a Local Expert during the process of checking and accepting/rejecting the record (known as verification).

Recording wildlife can be fun and creates a record of what wildlife you see over time. Sharing your wildlife sightings with us means they can be used mutiple times to help wildlife conservation. We'll share your data with other people recording wildlife, with academics developing their research, and with decision makers or policy makers. 

The easiest way to share your wildlife record is to register for our Online Recording System, which has lots of nice tools such as online maps and species dictionary. If you'd prefer to use your smartphone to record wildlife you can use the LERC Wales App or feel free to send us the record by emailing us with your sighting (our record submission template can be downloaded here). We also encourage people to make contact with relevant Local Experts in particular species groups. 

We're often asked whether recorders should send copies of their records to us if they have already submitted them through an online recording portal such as iRecord, iNaturalist or BirdTrack, or to a National Scheme or Society e.g. BSBI. The simple answer is that you shouldn't need to submit your records twice, as there are various pathways in place to share data. However not all records will be available to us therefore just get in touch if you'd like us to check on your specific example, then take a look at our in depth article on online recording.

Many of the records we receive, including through the Cofnod Online Recording System, require verification (checking and accepting/rejecting) before we can use them in data outputs. This is usually done by a Local Expert in that species group and geographic area. Some do not need verification, usually because they are of species that are relatively easy to identify (as defined by National Recording Schemes and Societies). If you have submitted a record using the Cofnod ORS you can tell whether or not it's in use by the symbol that appears next to it. Hover over the symbol with your mouse to see full details. If it isn't in use don't worry, it will get looked at but all local experts who verify records are doing so voluntarily. Please be patient and get in touch with us if you have any specific concerns.

The Cofnod Grant could help you improve your wildlife rececording. We offer grants of up to £500 to help buy equipment, pay for training or anything else which might help you generate more or better quality records.