I guess that most of us are not just interested in birds, but all kinds of other wildlife as well, and while this forum is primarily for bird sightings it makes sense to me to pass anything else of interest on, be it mammal sightings, insect sightings, or whatever (we have even had plane, train, and balloon sightings mentioned before now ). As for where to post it ? I would personally prefer to see it added onto the end of bird sightings on the existing site threads..
Well, this certainly goes on now but (as we've discussed to death Ian ) it can impact on what should really be a purely bird sightings forum. Sure you might have to click onto another section of the forum to post any other wildlife sightings but the major problem with having them included in the bird posts is that this would lead to (at least) occasional posts which are only about other forms of wildlife (not birds) and that's something I don't want. This could exclude those out there whose only interest is in other forms of wildlife and not necessarily birds. Also, if you're not interested in other forms of wildlife then you simply ignore that particular forum.
Rest assured, there's no plans for any other forums after this (and that's if I actually decide to go ahead with it!) as my whole aim for the Manchester Birding forum was to keep it simple and as uncluttered as possible. Bear in mind that the atlas forum will be deleted once it's purpose has passed and so that's one less on here too.
Ian Woosey said
Fri Sep 23 10:17 PM, 2011
I guess that most of us are not just interested in birds, but all kinds of other wildlife as well, and while this forum is primarily for bird sightings it makes sense to me to pass anything else of interest on, be it mammal sightings, insect sightings, or whatever (we have even had plane, train, and balloon sightings mentioned before now ). As for where to post it ? I would personally prefer to see it added onto the end of bird sightings on the existing site threads..
Ian McKerchar said
Fri Sep 23 10:05 PM, 2011
Geoff Hargreaves wrote:
Bring in on,I seem to remember some objections to the expansion into genral discussion,out of county etc. all now proven unfounded.I,d only ask that we keep to the same recordng areas,shame about the gallery section though,maybe someone can host a link through flicker or google(beyond me).
cheers geoff
Geoff, any recording area on this site will only ever be for Greater Manchester and my idea is that individual sites will be as the birding section (but clearly marked 'wildlife' to assist with searching).
-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Friday 23rd of September 2011 10:08:56 PM
Dave Thacker said
Fri Sep 23 9:35 PM, 2011
First of all, a big Thanks from me to Dave Winnard for setting up Manchester wildlife in the first place four years ago. I've enjoyed posting my sightings and reading the replies, meeting new people and learning more about diversity of GM's stunning Natural history.
As Ian mentions, most wildlife sightings come from birders anyway so I welcome the idea of posting them on a separate section of this forum.
Geoff Hargreaves said
Fri Sep 23 9:24 PM, 2011
Bring in on,I seem to remember some objections to the expansion into genral discussion,out of county etc. all now proven unfounded.I,d only ask that we keep to the same recordng areas,shame about the gallery section though,maybe someone can host a link through flicker or google(beyond me).
cheers geoff
Joe Wynn said
Fri Sep 23 8:44 PM, 2011
I've always 'observed' the wildlife forum, and would certainly contribute my own sightings to it should it be on this forum!
Dave Tennant said
Fri Sep 23 7:10 PM, 2011
A big yes from me, anything that promotes wildlife and creates discussion about it has got to be worthwhile. ps well done dave and thanks from me.
JOHN TYMON said
Fri Sep 23 10:11 AM, 2011
-- Edited by JOHN TYMON on Friday 23rd of September 2011 08:57:18 PM
Matt Potter said
Fri Sep 23 8:49 AM, 2011
Its a brilliant idea! Go for it!
Henry Cook said
Fri Sep 23 8:44 AM, 2011
I think it sounds like a good move. It ought to be popular alongside the thriving bird sections and will perhaps introduce even more people to the wonders of wildlife within the county.
Mike Chorley said
Thu Sep 22 9:32 PM, 2011
I've been a fairly regular poster on the Wildlife Forum so would be glad to see it carry on here in some form rather than disappear. It would also mean we could all go back to finishing our bird sightings with 'Wildlife Sightings on the other Forum' (or thread)
Adam Jones said
Thu Sep 22 9:06 PM, 2011
Sounds like a great idea Ian. I'd welcome it and enjoy reading it too.
Mike hirst said
Thu Sep 22 7:29 PM, 2011
Sounds good to me and thanks Dave for all your efforts.
Mike
David Winnard said
Thu Sep 22 5:19 PM, 2011
In 2007 I set up the Wildlife Forum as a place where GM folk could put their sightings on to share and gain knowledge about the amazing wildlife that occurs in the area. At the time Ian was not convinced about having a seperate wildlife section on the birding forum so i set up a different forum to work alongside it. Over the years many people have contributed many records and we have found some new species for GM and added greatly to species lists and databases to help protect certain species.
My work and time however means that i do not spend much time in GM and I struggle to spend the time on the wildlife forum that it deserves - I contacted Ian a few weeks ago about perhaps adding a wildlife section on the birding forum. It is for the best that there should be one forum with all the information.
I am incredibly grateful to everyone who has supported the wildlife forum over the years - i have made some wonderful friends from it and seen some amazing species, thank you to everyone
Over the coming few months all the records off the wildlife forum will be put onto an excel database and stored - people who contributed will be emailed this for their own reference.
Having a section on the birding forum makes sense. I will be putting all my records on their and i hope everyone else does the same - not only will GM be the best county for news and information for birds, but also for other wildlife.
Thanks again to everyone - I am in Romania looking for big mammals and I will sort more stuff out regarding the wildlife forum when i return.
David
John Doherty said
Thu Sep 22 4:25 PM, 2011
I welcome it, and would read it on a regular basis.
Ian McKerchar said
Thu Sep 22 3:09 PM, 2011
With the imminent closure of David Winnards Manchester Wildlife forum and website, David has approached me about hosting a wildlife section on my forum here instead.
Having sounded out several birders it seems logical to do just that, especially as birders seem to like to included their wildlife sightings within their bird sightings currently. So, this post is just to ask a wider audience their opinion on hosting a wildlife section too.
I would intend such a section to probably be by site only, with the various other forms of wildlife held within that one site thread, otherwise one could end up having lots of various catagories, each with the same sites. This would also make posting and searching for the correct thread that much easier (especially as wildlife threads would be indicated as such). Whilst other forms of wildlife are currently occasionally posted on the birds section, a wider use of this would enevitably lead to purely other forms of wildlife being posted on their too, and the Manchester Birding forum remains for all intents and purposes a birding forum. Seeing as most wildlife sightings come from birders though it stands to reason that it is most economical for those posting to do so on the one site. I have no intention though of having wildlife galleries etc I'm afraid.
Well, this certainly goes on now but (as we've discussed to death Ian
Rest assured, there's no plans for any other forums after this (and that's if I actually decide to go ahead with it!) as my whole aim for the Manchester Birding forum was to keep it simple and as uncluttered as possible. Bear in mind that the atlas forum will be deleted once it's purpose has passed and so that's one less on here too.
Geoff, any recording area on this site will only ever be for Greater Manchester
-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Friday 23rd of September 2011 10:08:56 PM
As Ian mentions, most wildlife sightings come from birders anyway so I welcome the idea of posting them on a separate section of this forum.
host a link through flicker or google(beyond me).
cheers geoff
-- Edited by JOHN TYMON on Friday 23rd of September 2011 08:57:18 PM
Mike
My work and time however means that i do not spend much time in GM and I struggle to spend the time on the wildlife forum that it deserves - I contacted Ian a few weeks ago about perhaps adding a wildlife section on the birding forum. It is for the best that there should be one forum with all the information.
I am incredibly grateful to everyone who has supported the wildlife forum over the years - i have made some wonderful friends from it and seen some amazing species, thank you to everyone
Over the coming few months all the records off the wildlife forum will be put onto an excel database and stored - people who contributed will be emailed this for their own reference.
Having a section on the birding forum makes sense. I will be putting all my records on their and i hope everyone else does the same - not only will GM be the best county for news and information for birds, but also for other wildlife.
Thanks again to everyone - I am in Romania looking for big mammals and I will sort more stuff out regarding the wildlife forum when i return.
David
Having sounded out several birders it seems logical to do just that, especially as birders seem to like to included their wildlife sightings within their bird sightings currently. So, this post is just to ask a wider audience their opinion on hosting a wildlife section too.
I would intend such a section to probably be by site only, with the various other forms of wildlife held within that one site thread, otherwise one could end up having lots of various catagories, each with the same sites. This would also make posting and searching for the correct thread that much easier (especially as wildlife threads would be indicated as such). Whilst other forms of wildlife are currently occasionally posted on the birds section, a wider use of this would enevitably lead to purely other forms of wildlife being posted on their too, and the Manchester Birding forum remains for all intents and purposes a birding forum. Seeing as most wildlife sightings come from birders though it stands to reason that it is most economical for those posting to do so on the one site. I have no intention though of having wildlife galleries etc I'm afraid.
Anyway, comments welcome.