If you're reading this blog, you love wildlife, and you likely want to do all you can to help nature thrive. One thing that most people can easily engage with is biological recording, but what is it, why is it important and how do you take part?

What is biological recording?

Biological recording can be broadly split into two main areas: ad-hoc recording and surveys. The first is reporting that Red Admiral butterfly you’ve just seen, by recording what, where and when you sighted it. Surveys (also sometimes called citizen science) come in many forms, but typically they involve gathering information in some sort of set, repeatable fashion. Both types are important, as they contribute to conservation in different ways.

Why should we record wildlife?

Wildlife recording is not just a numbers game - it's a wonderful way to connect with nature all around you, while taking direct action to help it. Over the days, weeks, months and years of recording, you'll become more and more in tune with the wildlife around you and hone your knowledge and identification skills. You'll also gain an understanding of how plants and animals respond to changes in the seasons and weather, when certain species tend to appear, emerge, nest and breed; with this, you'll be able to identify when they are behaving atypically and even when something might be amiss in the wider landscape.

Added to this, we cannot protect wildlife if we do not know where it is. All the data gathered by biological recorders and submitted a a local record centre can be used to:

• Identify important areas for species/habitats
• Monitor the status of species/habitats
• Protect important places for nature
• Ensure that habitat management is beneficial
• Understand more about the ecology of species
• Plan and prioritise action for nature
• Pinpoint required research areas
• Provide evidence of the impacts of climate change

Recording the plants and animals we see helps us understand how wildlife is faring in our area, when it might need our help and when it might be becoming affected by factors such as invasive species, human behaviour, pollution or climate change.

It's important to note that common species may not be so forever, as we have seen, so recording them is just as important as anything we consider rare/under threat.

How do I record wildlife?

It's never been easier to take part in biological recording; the hard part is deciding where to focus your efforts! For ad-hoc recording, the easiest way is by making use of either the ‘iRecord’ or ‘LERC Wales’ app for a smartphone. They are both free and allow you to record any species anywhere!

Alternatively, if you don't have a smartphone or only plan on submitting the occasional sighting, you can do so easily via the casual recording form on our website, which doesn't require you to have an account. Or, have a go at the MWT Garden Bird Survey.

How do I record wildlife along the Montgomery Canal?

The Welsh section of the Montgomery Canal is so rich in wildlife and important for some otherwise increasingly rare/threatened species, such as otters, kingfishers and bats, it has Site of Special Scientific Interest status, and is a Special Area of Conservation, the highest international designation possible. Because of this, we developed a special app dedicated to discovering and recording wildlife seen on it. Recently released bilingual app Canal Safari is perfect for taking on a walk along this wonderful waterway.

Reporting a sighting: the basics

This is what you need to make a record:

• Date
• Species
• Location
• Your name

Additional information which helps verify your sighting:

• Abundance; e.g. actual number, estimate
• Stage; e.g. adult, juvenile, larva
• Sex
• Type of sighting; e.g. field signs, live animal, fruiting body, roost, evidence of breeding
• Other comments; e.g. description of what you saw
• Photographs
• Name of person who identified the species, if it wasn’t you

If you have any questions about getting involved in wildlife recording, or would like to join a Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust survey, feel free to get in touch and I will do my best to help.
Email: tammy@montwt.co.uk