A team of CAWOS members has undertaken a project to prepare for the computerisation of future, and eventually past, Cheshire and Wirral bird records. The primary objective is to facilitate the future use of these ornithological records for appropriate scientific purposes. As a by-product it will greatly simplify the process of data preparation for the writing of the annual Bird Report. Our current priority is to get all 2001 records into the database by February 2002, in time for the compilation of the 2001 Cheshire and Wirral Bird Report. Once we have the system running smoothly we will start the process of adding historical data currently held electronically by many members and contributing organisations. Eventually, time and funding permitting, we hope to start entering some of the paper records currently stored in the Grosvenor Museum, Chester.

If you can submit records electronically please do so and to help you (and us!) we have prepared the document Guidelines for the Submission of Computerised Records, which sets out the best ways to do this. For those of you who are unable to, or prefer not to, submit your records in electronic format, please continue to submit your records on paper and we will enter them into the computer on your behalf. The document Guidelines for the Submission of Paper Records explains the changes made to the Record Form, which should prove easier to complete. Following either of the above guidelines will help us with the smooth and efficient transfer of your data into our computer.

The Cheshire and Wirral Gazetteer is a new publication which contains a revised county map, eight detailed site maps and over 3000 site names along with their grid references and unique identification numbers. This is free to CAWOS members and regular contributors of records, however further copies are available at a minimal cost of £1.50 (including p&p) from the Membership Secretary. Whether sending in your records electronically or on paper, please use the site name and ID number or grid reference from this Gazetteer if at all possible.

We also need to ask all contributors to sign and return an Individual Data Transfer Agreement Form stating that you are the copyright owner of your records and that you are willing to grant CAWOS permission to make use of your records. If you submit records on behalf of a society you will need to sign and return a Group/Organisation Data Transfer Agreement Form.

The guidelines and forms mentioned above are all available to download from this web site. Species and site lists (as used in the CAWOS database) are available from Jane Turner - see Guidelines for the Submission of Computerised Records for further information.

If you have any queries, suggestions or concerns please contact Jane Turner on 0151 632 3308 or e-mail: help.submissions@cawos.org Thank you for your help and support for this important project.

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