Roger Hicks wrote, about UK bird clubs ....
"One thing that all these 'local' clubs have in common is that all
strive to produce an annual report covering the birds seen in 'their'
area. Members and visitors are encouraged to submit records from which
the annual report is compiled"
and then, about Australian clubs .....
"The Geelong Field Nats produce a similar annual report but I have not
seen any others. .......... This seems to be something of a blackhole in
Australian bird-watching/ornithology and something local bird clubs
could address."
I don't know about the situation in other states, but in NSW the Field
Ornithologists Club produces an annual report for NSW, and has done for
many years. On regional basis in NSW, fairly substantial annual reports
are produced by Canberra Ornithologists Group (for an area covering ACT
and nearby parts of NSW), by Hunter Bird Observers Club (covering the
Hunter valley and nearby areas) and by Eurobodalla Natural History
Society (covering part of southern coastal NSW, reports deal with birds
and with other wildlife).
In all cases, records of common and uncommon sightings in the region, by
members or visitors, are most welcomed. The information generally also
becomes included into larger databases. For example, HBOC forwards
local records to the NSW Bird Atlassers, and to NSW National Parks &
Wildlife Service where appropriate. I understand that COG does
something similar.
We've found in HBOC that people respond positively to seeing that their
information is being used - with the result that there's a lot more of
it provided. This is giving us a much better idea of the local status
of species and the distribution, and is helping with some conservation
battles.
Alan Stuart
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