Name of the person who first spotted it. Enter full name if possible.

Full name of person who identified it. Often the same as the 'Observer' but may be different, for example sending a photo to an expert for ID.

Specific dates

• dd/mm/yyyy e.g 16/04/2019
• yyyy-mm-dd e.g 2019-04-16
• today or t e.g.
• yesterday or y e.g.
• last Monday e.g.

Vague dates

• dd/mm/yyyy to dd/mm/yyyy e.g 13/04/2019 to 16/04/2019
• yyyy-mm-dd to yyyy-mm-dd e.g 2019-04-13 to 2019-04-16
• Aug 2019 or August 2019 e.g 01/08/2019 to 31/08/2019
• Mar 2019 to Jun 2019 or March 2019 to June 2019 e.g 01/03/2019 to 30/06/2019
• Winter 2019 e.g 01/12/2019 to 29/02/2020
• 2019 e.g 01/01/2019 to 31/12/2019
• 2017 to 2019 e.g 01/01/2017 to 31/12/2019

Location description if available. This could be a place name (e.g. 'Chester Zoo Nature Reserve'), or an address (e.g. 'Princess Street, Warrington'). Specifics such as 'under a log', 'in a pond' etc. are not appropriate for this field, but could be added in 'Comments'.

This is linked to the 'Position' map above. Adding, or dragging, a pin on the map updates the grid reference. Entering a grid reference relocates the pin on the map. Please only use standard format, e.g. SJ41587047 and enter to highest degree of accuracy known.

Pick from one of the available options. Stage refers to the life stage, e.g. 'Adult', 'Juvenile', 'Dead' or for a plant 'Flowering' etc. You can add both the sex and the stage, e.g. 'Adult Female' or one or the other. If not known select 'Not recorded'. If you want to enter an option that isn't available, please email us.

This is 'how' you recorded it. Pick from the available options. Records of evidence, e.g. 'Mole Hill' are just as important as live sightings. If you used any equipment add this here too. If more than one record type applies, please include what you feel to be the most important information to interpret the record here and add anything additional in the comments.

The default (if you are unsure) is 'Field Record.' If you have seen a live individual, please use 'Sighting' rather than 'Field Record'.

Any additional information not relevant to the other fields can be added here. For example, if the data was part of an event like a Bioblitz add that here, you could note the weather (if relevant), any additional observers, if a site centroid was used. The record should 'make sense' without the comments. Comments are to provide additional information, not as an extra space to record information that should be in another place.

The sensitive flag masks the precise location of the record, location information and hides the comments from all users apart from ourselves, allowing us to ensure its only shared with those who will treat it carefully and not use it to do harm.