Nest recording in other situations

Although nest records are usually only wanted for nests that are active, have progressed beyond building-stage, and can be inspected to obtain counts of contents, it is now also possible to send in records for other situations, such as an unoccupied nest site and an active nest where contents can't be viewed.

Upgrade to IPMR v2.6 needed for this  

This expanded survey functionality has been provided mainly to make Schedule 1 Licence reporting simpler. If you hold a licence and are required to submit an annual report to the BTO about the sites you monitor, you can now use nest records to send in information about all of your sites: breeding attempts, presence of non-breeding adults, sites being unoccupied, and even that sites haven't been visited. Submitting information about all your sites via nest records means that you do not need to fill out a Schedule 1 Report Form. Please see here for guidance on using nest records for Schedule 1 reporting.

So can I submit records for any unoccupied sites, such as tit boxes?

Technically yes, but at the moment please do not submit records for unoccupied sites unless you are doing Schedule 1 reporting. The expanded functionality has been provided mainly for Schedule 1 reporting, however it is anticipated that it will be used in the future for NRS-related occupancy surveys and of course anyone is free to use the new codes for their own studies, such as a study of nest box occupancy in a wood. However, unless you are doing Schedule 1 reporting, please stick to standard NRS methodology when submitting records and do not submit records for unoccupied sites. IPMR users can do this by changing the submission status of any records that aren't be submitted from NOT to OLD:

How to fill out a nest record for an unoccupied site and other situations

Below are instructions on what to put down in the visits section when recording non-occupancy and other situations not covered by the standard NRS methodology. Please note that these records should not be submitted unless you are reporting on Schedule 1 sites.

For help with what to put down for nest visits, please see below or click on one of the links for relevant sets of instructions:

• No breeding at nest site or site not occupied by target species

• Site not visited this year

• Active nest located but contents never counted

• Chicks already fledged or nest already failed when found

• Evidence of building but no evidence of eggs or chicks

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No breeding at nest site or site not occupied by target species

Note: please only submit records in these circumstances if you are reporting for Schedule 1 purposes.

• SN Nest site available but not occupied
• SS Nest site occupied by target species but no nesting attempts
• SU Nest site occupied by a different species to target species

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Tips

• When entering code SS, you can put down the number of adults present in the comments section.

• When entering code SU, you can enter the species that is occupying the nest site in the comments section. Consider completing a second nest record for the other species' nesting attempt, e.g.  a Stock Dove nest in a Barn Owl box.

• If a site becomes occupied by another species part-way through the season, please use code SU.

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Site not visited/monitored this year

Note: please only submit records in these circumstances if you are reporting for Schedule 1 purposes.

• SD Nest site destroyed, i.e. physically no longer suitable for nesting
• SX Nest site not monitored

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Tips

• If you have not visited the site at all (SX), please just enter today's date for the visit date.

• If a site is available to be used during the breeding season and then becomes unavailable, please use code SD.

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Active nest located but contents never counted

Note: please only submit records in these circumstances if you are reporting for Schedule 1 purposes.

If you are aware of an active nesting attempt but are unable to see into the nest to count the contents, you can still record adult activity, for example PF when parents are feeding young. Minimum chick counts are also possible if older young become visible, for example '2+' if two are seen (a minimum is assumed as there may be more inside the nest). It may be possible to conclude a nest outcome, for example the outcome codes NN or SL may be used if chicks are seen fledging or near the nest. It may also be possible to determine a nest failure, for example JD if the parents stop taking food before the chicks could possibly have fledged, or JP/EP if it is obvious the nest has been predated. Usually the nest record will be concluded with the code OU, since the outcome will be unknown.

In the example below, adult activity has been recorded on several visits. No activity was seen on the final visit and there was no evidence to suggest either a success or a failure, so the code OU (outcome unknown) has been entered.

In the example below, a minimum count of chicks has been entered against a visit where chicks were seen at the nest box entrance hole. On the next visit, fledged chicks were seen near the nest, so the outcome code NN has been used.

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Chicks already fledged or nest already failed when found

Note: please only submit records in these circumstances if you are reporting for Schedule 1 purposes.

For the nest visits section, it is sufficient to enter the date of the final visit to the site and one or more of the outcome codes given below.

• NE Well-trodden nest is found
• NN A brood of newly-fledged chicks are seen near the nest site, obviously associated with the nest
• AC Adults seen carrying food to chicks presumably nearby
• HS Hatched shell fragments in the nest of a nidifugous species, e.g. wader, gamebird, waterbird.
• EO Nest failed at egg stage before discovery.
• JO Nest failed at young stage before discovery.
• XO Nest failed at building stage before discovery, or the nest stage at failure is uncertain.

In the example below, the code EO has been used to indicate that the nest was found with predated eggs on the visit date given.

Tips

• Only inactive nests from the current season should be recorded. If you are not sure whether the nest is actually an old nest from last year, use one of the 'no nest' codes (above) instead. Old eggs can last for several years, especially in boxes.

• Don't assume just from the presence of dead chicks or eggs that the nest failed. If the nest is well-trodden and shows evidence of having held large chicks that are now missing (i.e. not dead), please use code OU.

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Evidence of building but no evidence of eggs or chicks

Note: please only submit records in these circumstances if you are reporting for Schedule 1 purposes.

For the nest visits section, use the nest building codes (below) to indicate what stage of building the nest has reached on a given visit. The code OU can be used on the final visit to indicate that the nesting attempt appeared to go no further. It is sufficient to just enter the final visit to the nest, but entering a series of visits is also fine (see below).

• N1 Nest quarter-built
• N2 Nest half-built
• N3 Nest three-quarters built
• N4 Nest fully-built and unlined
• NL Nest lined
• OU Outcome unknown (used for the final visit)

In the following example, a single visit has been entered with the code N4 to indicate that a fresh-looking nest was found on the date entered and the code OU has also been entered to indicate that monitoring ceased with that visit. In this scenario, the nest could already have been abandoned before laying, it could have been predated already (eggs taken), or it could have been about to be laid in.

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