How to record data in Birdata: mobile app

Existing users

• Check you have the latest version of Birdata in the App Store (iPhone) or Play Store (Android).
• Enter your email address and password, then tap ‘Log in’.

New users

• Download the Birdata app from the App Store (iPhone) or Play Store (Android).
• From your device, you can also go to https://birdata.birdlife.org.au and click ‘Download the app‘.
• Tap ‘Create a new account’. Fill in the short form, then tap ‘Register’, then log in (see above).

• Tap ‘record a survey’ at the top of the screen.

• Under ‘All Programs’ select ‘Southwest Black-Cockatoo Recovery Program / WA Black Cockies’.

On the map this blue marker shows your current location (which should be at your GCC survey site). Most GCC sites are already in Birdata as shared sites, indicated by a purple polygon as shown.

Click in the centre of the blue circle to confirm your location.​

• This box will appear, automatically recording your GPS coordinates. If your GCC site is already in Birdata as a shared site the box will also include the name of that shared site.
• Tap ‘Record survey here’ at the bottom of the screen.

• Under the ‘DETAILS’ tab, check the ‘Start Date’ and ‘Start Time’ of your survey are correct. Tap on them if you need to change them.
• Select ‘Survey Type‘

• Select ‘Incidental Search‘

• Leave ‘Survey Duration‘ blank for now​
• ‘Location Name‘: If your site is a shared site the location name will appear automatically. If not you will have to enter the location code manually by selecting and typing using the keyboard.
• If you are collecting data in a group, tap ‘Number of Observers’ and select the number of people collecting data. On Android, tap ‘Set’.

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• Keep ‘All Species Recorded‘ toggled off in this position. You will only be recording Black-Cockatoo species in this survey.​
  
• If you are near a water source such as a dam or river feel free to select ‘Water Level‘ and select from the options listed.​

• ‘Location Accuracy‘: Leave as it appears​.

• • ‘Habitat‘, ‘Plant used‘, ‘Direction of movement‘:
    • Select these sections and choose the relevant options. You can select more than one option in all sections except for “Direction of movement”.
    • It is often best to come back and complete this info at the end of your survey as you will not know what the plants used, activities and directions of movement will be in advance.​

• Make one or more selections from the below fields. If no Black-Cockatoos roost at your site leave these fields blank.
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• ‘Survey is part of Great Cocky Count‘: Toggle this to the right to indicate the survey IS part of the GCC
• If you would like to record additional information about your site or survey, tap ‘Comments’ and enter your notes. Use the comments section to​:
  • List the names of all additional observers
  • Record any other bird species roosting overnight (eg lorikeets, galahs)
  • Make note of any other prudent observations
• Tap ‘Record Sightings’ at the bottom of the screen or the ‘SIGHTINGS’ tab at the top of the screen to proceed.

This is the screen where you will record your sightings of Black-Cockatoos.​

A clock in the corner keeps track of your survey duration. If you switch to a different tab (location, details or review) the timer will stop and restart when you return to the sightings page. If you are moving between tabs to change details etc. it is best to record the start and finish times or survey duration using your phone clock or other timepiece.​

At least one Southwestern Black-Cockatoo species observed:

• When you see a Black-Cockatoo flying in to roost click in this box and start typing in the species name.

• As you begin typing suggestions of bird species will appear. Please only record the following species during your GCC survey –​
  • Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo​
  • Carnaby’s Black-Cockatoo​
  • Baudin’s Black-Cockatoo​
  • White-tailed Black-Cockatoo spp​
• Please Note: You are not expected to distinguish between Carnaby’s and Baudin’s – White-tailed Black-Cockatoo spp is fine.
• Select the species you are recording from the drop-down menu.
• ‘Count‘: This is where the total count of this species goes at the end of the night. It is best to leave this blank to begin with as you don’t know what your final number will be.​
  • As the night goes on keep a tally of the cockatoos as they fly in in the notes section, remembering to also record if any Black-Cockatoos leave the roost after flying in. Eg: 2,2,3,17,-3,6,-4,2,…
  • You can also add any additional information or observations regarding this species in the Notes section alongside your tally.
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• Add photos if you wish. This could be of the trees they are roosting in or the birds. We especially like photos of people while they’re doing the Cocky Count! Tap the ‘Add Photo’ box and select your images to upload.
• If you need to head back to the Sightings screen to record another black-cockatoo species tap ‘SAVE‘ in the top right corner. You can always come back and add to the tally and notes later.

Add another black-cockatoo species:

• To add sightings of a different black-cockatoo species, repeat the process by tapping in the ‘Search by species name’.
• Follow the same steps to add other black-cockatoo species that you see into the sightings tab.​
• Species are shown in red when they are out of the species current recorded range. For example if you are in Perth, “Baudin’s Black-Cockatoo” may appear in red because they are not normally recorded in Perth. This is simply a prompt for you to reconsider and make sure you have the correct species.  ​
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• Continue to keep a tally for all species of Black-Cockatoo you see during your survey.​ Remember to click ‘SAVE‘ to return to the sightings page each time you have added to your tally.

• When you have surveyed for the required time you need to go back into each sighting and sum up each tally. Put the total number of birds that stayed to roost the night into the ‘Count‘ section.

• At the end your sightings page should appear similar to this with all Black-Cockatoo species listed with the total numbers that stayed to roost overnight. ​
• No Southwestern Black-Cockatoos observed: If you have not observed any Southwestern Black-Cockatoo species during your survey (zero observations), this is still valuable data. Leave the ‘SIGHTINGS’ tab blank.
• Before you Review and Submit you need to go back and add the rest of the information into the Details tab.​
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• In the DETAILS fill in the final survey details such as the Plant/s used, Activities observed, general direction of movement and any additional comments. You also need to fill in the survey duration as this is not recorded unless you put it in manually.​
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• • When you have done this go to the REVIEW tab.​
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• Check that all details are entered correctly on the REVIEW page.
• If you need to edit data, tap the relevant tab (e.g. ‘LOCATION’, ‘DETAILS’, ‘SIGHTINGS’) at the top of the screen.
  • If you have not recorded any sightings, a prompt will appear when you review your survey saying ‘Warning – you have not entered any sightings’. Ignore this, you can still submit your survey.
• When finished, tap ‘Submit Survey’ at the bottom of the screen.
  NOTE: If you submit your survey in the Birdata app and later need to change any details, you can edit your survey using the web portal.
• If you are out of phone range the app will let you know it can’t submit the survey, but will automatically submit it when you get back into range.

You now know how to do the Great Cocky Count using Birdata.

• Please submit surveys even if you don’t see any black-cockatoos. Zero is still a result and this provides us with important information on roost occupation. A prompt will come up when you review your survey saying ‘Warning – you have not entered any sightings’. Ignore this and submit the survey.​
• Please send a courtesy email to greatcockycount@birdlife.org.au let us know you have submitted your survey using Birdata. This will help us find the survey in our database.​