Survey
A zero count is data, and it is the data nobody submits
People only submit when they see something, which biases every dataset upward. A blank return from a proper hour of watching is genuinely valuable.
What to do
One hour, one place, once a week between April and September. Record what you see, and record it when you see nothing.
Why zeros matter
Absence data is what shows decline. A dataset made only of sightings can never show anything getting rarer, only where it still is.
The skill needed
Six species, all common and all illustrated on the sheet. Nobody is expected to identify anything beyond those six.
Get a recording sheetSee last year's results
