You should start a new record every time a new nest is started or found. This means if you're monitoring a nest box and a new nest is built in it or a new clutch of eggs laid, even during the same breeding season, you should start a new record rather than adding more visits to an existing one.

What about if you're monitoring a box that hasn't been used yet this year? In that case, please start a new record at the beginning of the year, rather than adding more visits to last year's record.

Watch our video tutorial about starting a new record or follow the written instructions below for step-by-step guidance.

This video tutorial takes you through the process of starting a new record in the online data entry system.

Log in to Nesting Neighbours, then select "Start new nest record" from the options on the home screen.

1. Choose the nest location

For a nest in a new location:

1. Open the "Location of nest" dropdown and select "In a new location". 
2. A map will pop up where you can select your location – this is the general area you will be recording nests; for example, your garden, the local park, or your work car park. You can zoom the map to an area by entering either the postcode or a 1km grid reference.
3. Click the centre of the location where you would like to record your nest, and enter a friendly name for your location that is easy for you to remember - for example, ‘Garden’, ‘Local park’, ‘Work’.
4. Save the nest location. This will take you back to the data entry page. 

If the nest is at a location you've told us about before, but in a new box or place:

1. Open the "Location of nest" dropdown and select the correct location from the options that appear.
2.  Select "a new box" from the list that appears under that location name.
3. Here you can select if the nest is "in a nest box" or a "nest (not in a box)". If you select "in a nest box", you will need to give the box a name to distinguish it from any other boxes in this location. 

If the nest is in a box you've recorded before:

1. Open the "Location of nest" dropdown and select "In a new location". 
2. Choose the location of the nest, then select the correct box from the list that appears.

2. Choose the species

After you have entered the nest location, you need to select the species from the species drop-down. 

• If you are not yet sure of the species, you can select ‘Unknown species’. Make sure to update this once you do know which species is using the box, otherwise we cannot make use of the information.

3. Click 'Continue' to move on to the visit details page. 

The date and time entered should be the day and time that you visited the nest, in format dd/mm/yyyy.

Information about eggs and chicks

The number of eggs and young should be as accurate as possible. Do not overestimate the number present, but instead put the minimum count. For example:

• If you know there were at least 3 eggs, but there could have been more, you can enter 3+. 
• If you think eggs or young may be present, but you are not certain, you can enter ?.

Using status codes 

Status codes are very valuable for building a picture of the nest. You can enter details of the stage of nest building, egg and young progress, parent activity and most importantly, whether the nest was successful or failed. Status codes should be used rather than free-text comments, because we cannot use free text for our research analysis.

Once the nesting attempt is finished 

The most important piece of information to collect from a nest is whether it was successful (i.e. fledged at least one chick) or failed (e.g. the eggs failed to hatch). For example: 

• If the nest is empty and it appears all of the young were able to leave, you can enter the status "Nest empty"
• If you have seen the young in the nearby area after leaving the box, you can enter the status "Fledged young near nest."

This video tutorial takes you through the process of updating, editing or adding information to an existing record. 

• Remember to follow the guidance about entering visit details when you add to or edit records.

1. From the homescreen, select "Add observations to records you've already started" from the options. 
2. Find the record you want to update and select "Open". You can find records by filtering by location and/or year.

From here, you can: 

• Add information to the record (for example, if you have conducted a new nest visit and have new information to submit)
• Edit information in the record (for example, if you realise you have made a mistake when you previously entered information). 

Remember to follow the guidance about entering visit details when you add to or edit records. 

You will be prompted to add nest / nest box details to the nest when you start a new nest record. However, you can also edit or add to these once you have set up your record. 

How to edit or update nest / nest box details

1. Select "Habitat and box details" from the homescreen
2. Choose the location of your nest / nest box from the dropdown list
3. Select "Nest boxes" to open that section
4. Choose the nest box you want to add details for from the dropdown list
5. Input the correct information for each question
6. Click "Save changes"

Nest / nest box detail options

• Box height: Height from the ground in meters.
• Predator protection: Protection implemented on the nest box. For example, there could be a metal plate around a nest box hole or a material placed around the box to deter woodpeckers. 
• Exposure: Is the box fully exposed or hidden in foliage?
• Orientation: Is the box facing North, South, East or West? You may be able to use a compass on your phone if you are not sure.
• Over water: Is the box over a stream or river, or over the ground?
• Box Placement: The most common placement for a nest box would be on a tree. You can enter up to five descriptions of the box placement.

Archive a nest box

If you record a nest box that has been damaged, is broken, or has fallen off the wall / tree, you can select "Archive" when editing that nest's details. This will remove it from the nest box selection dropdowns across your Nesting Neighbours interface.

You can add information about the habitat around the nest to the nest location. You can only add habitat details once you have started a new nest record and created the location of the nest.

How to edit habitat details

1. Select "Habitat & Nest Box Details" from the homescreen
2. Choose the location you want to add habitat details for from the dropdown list
3. Select "Habitat details" to open that section and input the correct information for each question
4. Click "Save habitat details" to make sure your changes are saved

Habitat detail options

• Primary habitat
• Size of location
• Roughly how many trees:
• Are there areas of dense creeper?
• Do you put food out for birds?
• How often do you see predators?

1. On your mobile device, open your usual web browser (e.g. Chrome, Safari, Ecosia, Samsung Internet etc). 
2. Go to https://app.bto.org/nesting-neighbours
3. Click on the three dots at the top of the browser window
4. Scroll through the menu that appears and select 'Add to home screen'
5. Select 'Add' and then 'Add' again.

You will now have a shortcut on your home screen that you can use to quickly access Nesting Neighbours on your mobile.