birding...

Olive-backed Sunbird Nectarinia jugularis ©Ian Montgomery http://birdway.com.au

There are some wonderful repositories for trip reports and the best are set out below. The fatbirder would not dream of trying to compete but we do offer some additional links to reports on personal sites which may not be on the larger trip report websites. Each country page carries links to trip reports on that country rather than having them in this section. There are a few hosted by fatbirder too but I think it better if you offered yours to a site that spcialises in Trip Reports rather than Fatbirder. Below are some guidelines on writing up your trip.

If you want your report to appear in one of the repositories they may ask you to follow a few simple guidelines, you may also find these of use if you wish your reports to be used by others.

1. A list of birds you saw is not a report; nor is a list of rarities without commoner species. That is a list for your own pleasure (or possibly to impress your friends) but is not in itself a lot of help to other birders. Your list of birds should either have sites against each bird, or each site should have a list of birds against it.

2. In the interests of space it is better to give map references rather than maps; descriptions rather than pictures. Too many maps or pictures will make the report take too long to open on the site and that will frustrate potential users. If quoting map references or place names include a note in the report of the maps or books you used with publishers and prices at time of writing. Of course you should include maps of very specific sites if they are not, to your knowledge, published elsewhere.

3. Background is useful, and not just for infrequently visited locations. Not all of us have been to Tenerife or Disneyworld and will find tips about people, bargains, transport, local customs etc. useful, so long as you do not write a whole book about it.

4. Costs help... if you got a cheap flight or package tell us how much and where. If you booked through the internet give us URLs (website addresses).

5. You might have kept your notes in the form of a diary but, apart from the time of year, we do not need to know which day you were where... include a trip itinerary instead if you want to show us the logistics of a complicated travel plan.

6. Finally sum up. Its nice to know what you thought of the places you went to and whether it was value for money and what problems you had.

These are, of course, guidelines. Please get in touch if you want us to host your trip reports – there is no charge to you or to the report readers. This section is nowhere near as full as it could and should be. Many birders will not only have produced their own reports but will also have them on their own web-sites. Come on you shrinking violets... let us know your website address and what you have recorded so we can all share it.

The Fat Birder has a report or two of its own so if you want to read about my trips to Kenya, Goa, or Trinidad & Tobago or my mate`s trips to Costa Rica and Lesbos see my Birder`s Travel website at http://www.anytimetours.co.uk