The information on the Garden BirdWatch Count Form and the Site Registration Form will be read automatically by a scanning machine that reads the forms simply by detecting the contrast between the dark ink-filled boxes and the light background. Consequently, extra care needs to be taken in completing these forms as dirt, smudges or even erased pencil marks can confuse the scanner.

Please look after your forms, they must be clean and flat for the machine to accept them. If a form becomes creased or dirty, we will always be pleased to send you a replacement. It is absolutely vital that you do not mark the forms anywhere except in the appropriate boxes and in the section asking for your name and address. Do not write notes or draw lines on the forms! If possible, keep your Garden BirdWatch records in a notebook and transfer them onto a clean, carefully-stored count form at the end of each quarter.

It is essential that you enter your Garden BirdWatch Number in the pink boxes on both sides of the Count Form and in the first section of the Site Registration Form, but do not write the numbers. Instead, mark the first digit of your Garden BirdWatch Number by inking in the box under the appropriate number in the line marked 1st digit, mark the second digit under its corresponding number in the line marked 2nd digit and so on. For example, if your Garden BirdWatch Number was 01459 the boxes would be filled in as follows:

Next, consult the calendar sheet to find the current quarter and week numbers. Mark the correct year and quarter on both sides of the form, again with ‘blobs’ in the correct boxes. Unless you have received this pack just before week 1 of a quarter, your first form probably won’t start at week 1. For example, if you were to start recording on August 18th 2002, you would mark your first records in column 8 and mark the year and quarter like this:

Please examine the calendar carefully and make sure you understand this before recording. Errors in the year and quarter are a frequent cause of rejected forms.

Please look after your forms and try not to crease them. Anything stapled or pinned to the forms has to be removed and the resulting damage may prevent scanning. Please do not attach anything to your forms except Post-it™ notes or other non-destructive attachments when absolutely necessary. Crumpled or creased forms will not be usable.

It’s easy to make a mistake and mark an incorrect box. Don’t panic! Carefully white out the entire incorrect box, preferably with correcting tape. If you do not have tape, use a small amount of correcting fluid, evenly applied. Large blobs of correcting fluid confuse the scanner. If many corrections are required it may be better to enclose a separate list, we will always do our best to sort your form out.

When posting your Count Form, please fold it carefully in half with one single fold along the centre line, which is marked “fold here”. The Site Registration Form may also be folded along the centre line marked “fold”. Please do not fold the form in any other way. Forms which have been folded above or below the centre line will not be usable. Keep your form flat at all times and return it in a reasonably strong envelope, ideally size C5 (229 x 162 mm). As further protection against creasing you may wish to enclose a piece of card with your form, breakfast cereal packet is ideal. Please take care not to exceed the maximum weight for your stamp, as we have to pay heavy surcharges on any underpaid postage, typically 80p or even more per item.

Before you post a form off to us please glance over it to check that you have filled in all the sections. Please return Count Forms within 3 weeks of their completion at the end of each quarter. Return the enclosed Site Registration Form within four weeks of receiving it. The Scarcer Species Form can be retained until it is full.

If you have a question about the birds in your garden, do not write it on the count form but enclose a separate letter giving your name, address and Garden BirdWatch Number. You may wish to mark the top left-hand corner of the envelope “Letter enclosed”. Unfortunately we cannot guarantee to reply to every letter as this would take a huge amount of time. However all letters received are read gratefully and with interest. Those which appear to contain a question or expect a reply are set aside for attention when time permits. It helps us plan our workload if you clearly state in your letter either “no reply necessary” or “ reply please”. We reply to as many as we can manage.

If you wish, you can download the Garden BirdWatch instructions as a PDF for easy storage and printing.