The Seabird Monitoring Programme (SMP) Online Database has been developed by the partners in the monitoring programme to meet the following needs:

This Help page gives general information on: the Seabird Monitoring Programme; a summary of the surveys that have contributed data; the main features and uses of the website; and detailed descriptions of each of the pages and how to use them.

The datasets available to view on this website comprise count data from a number of related surveys that have been conducted since the 1980s: The Seabird Colony Register census (1982-1991), Urban Gull censuses (1976 and 1993-1995 and also included in 'Seabird 2000'), Seabird 2000 (1998-2002) and the Seabird Monitoring Programme (1986 to present).

The SMP website provides the following features, depending on your level of access:

Each of these features is described briefly below.

The website will provide access to all of the constituent colony counts going back to Operation Seafarer in the 1960s (currently data – for species other than terns - are only available going back to 1976), and to breeding success records since 1986. Users are able to view the data by browsing or searching sites using the site hierarchy. This site hierarchy shows all of the count units that have been used to record colony counts organised into a hierarchy from the country to the site level. For counts that were made as part of the Seabird 2000 census, the sites are organised into a higher grouping level called Master sites and these are organised into counties. For details of how to browse sites, see the Browse Sites section.

The website provides facilities for users who have registered to be able to enter and update records. These are immediately submitted to the database and will be visible to any other users of the system as ‘unchecked’ records. Once the new records have been entered, registered users can update or delete their own counts (within the same field season), but are not able to update or delete counts entered by other recorders. For details on how to register and how to enter counts online, see the Request Greater Access section and the Enter New Records section.

All records that are entered online are flagged as unchecked, regardless of who entered them, and can only be validated, or flagged as checked, by a user with ‘Validator’ access levels. For details of how to validate/invalidate records see the Validate Records section.

One of the main purposes of the SMP Online Database is to promote a shared site network that identifies and shows those sites that have colony counts and/or breeding success records. By promoting a shared understanding of where these sites are and what their boundaries are, records can be directly compared from year to year to allow analyses of changes in distribution, abundance and breeding performance.

During the Seabird 2000 census, an attempt was made to get full UK coverage and so the site network should include all potential sites where seabirds breed. However, through time it may be necessary to create new count sites to record against – users with ‘Administrator’ access levels can create new sites, and validate existing sites to ensure that the boundary shown on the map actually relates to where the count was made. Once sites have been defined geographically they cannot be changed. For details of how to create, manage and validate sites, see the Browse Sites section.

In order for users to be able to enter records, they must create an account by registering. This registration process allows controlled access to the website and also allows users to save their own preferences using profiles. Currently there are five access levels for the SMP website: Public, Registered, Recorder, Validator and Administrator. For more information on User registration and profiles, see the Login and My Account sections.

For users with ‘Administration’ access levels, there are facilities for managing registered users and updating their access levels. For more details of user and site administration see the Users Section.

All users have access to this Help system and to context sensitive help which can be called from each page within the website.

One of the main purposes of the SMP Online Database is to enable the provision of reports and outputs from downloads on the status and trends in seabird distribution, abundance and breeding success at a range of geographic scales. To export records, go to either the Colony Counts or Breeding Success tab under the Country, County, Mastersite or Site level and click on the blue Export data button in top left of screen. Select the formats you’d like the output to appear in (Excel or PDF), then click Export.

The Browse Sites page is the main page for navigating the data and viewing information on sites, samples and records. Using this page you can view colony counts and breeding success records, create new counts and new breeding success records, validate records and validate sites, depending on your level of access. It is separated into a site hierarchy on the left of the page and a details pane on the right of the page. The relative size of the hierarchy can be changed by changing the position of the splitter bar. To change the position of the splitter bar either double click on it, press ‘t’ on the keyboard or drag and drop it. Under ‘Show Sites of Type’ you can view either All Sites (regardless of whether they contain whole colony counts or breeding success records) or just breeding success sites.

The hierarchy shown on the left hand side will show the full site hierarchy for all of the sites that you can currently view, going down to the level of individual records. The sites that you can see will depend on how you are filtering the sites (i.e. by survey, those that are active/inactive or by date). For more information see the My Account section.

To navigate through the hierarchy, simply click on the Expand plus sign () next to each item in the hierarchy.

The top level of the hierarchy is country and this is followed by county. Only those countries or counties that have data are shown in the hierarchy.

The next level down in the hierarchy is either a 'site' () or a 'Master site' (), depending on whether you are using master sites (see the My Account section for more information) and if the sites are grouped into master sites. Master sites are simply a way of organising sites into groups.

When you click on a master site, you can see the sites that are part of it.

When you click on a site, you can then see the samples for whole colony counts  () and for breeding success records () that have been made at that site.

Expanding a sample will show you the whole colony counts () and breeding success estimates () that have been made for it.

If you click on the text, the item will be selected and more detailed information about that item is shown in the details pane. Details about what information is shown for each level in the hierarchy are given in the following sections.

Simple information on the country.

All whole colony counts that have been made within the selected country will be shown in a table. The fields that are shown in this table, and in all count tables, are shown in the following table:

Counts can be sorted by any of the column headers in the table simply by clicking on the column header. Clicking again on the header will sort the table by that column in a descending direction. All count panes can be sorted in this way.

Note: This page can take a long while to load due to the volume of data.

All breeding success records that have been made within the selected country will be shown in a table. The fields that are shown in this table, and in all such tables, are shown in the following table:

Simple information about the county, together with a map of the county showing the position of sites and/or master sites. For more information on the map, see Mapping. If you have 'Administrator' access levels you will see an add icon () which will create a new master site within the selected county.

All colony counts or breeding success records that have been made within the selected county. See the Country Counts and Country Breeding Success records section for more information on the fields and how to sort the table.

If the user is using master sites, then the next level in the site hierarchy is the Master site. The Master site details pane shows a map with the start position of the sites overlaid. For more information on the map, see Mapping. If you have 'Administrator' access levels then you will see icons for creating a new site within this master site, and editing or deleting this master site.

Some simple information on the Master site is also shown as detailed in the following table:

All colony counts and breeding success records that have been made at constituent sites within the selected master site. See the Country Counts section for more information on the fields and how to sort the table.

The Site Details pane shows a map with the position of the site displayed. The site can be represented in one of two ways:

Because of the scope for errors in the recording of grid references, the site positions may not be correct and may actually show a site position that bears no relation to the area that was actually counted. This is obviously a key consideration in data quality and in order to be able to judge the accuracy of the site positions, sites can be validated in the same way that counts can. Site validation is carried out by users with ‘Validator’ access levels and they have access to the original survey sheets that were submitted to the SMP team in Aberdeen. A significant proportion of sites have already been validated, but there are others that are yet to go through the validation process. In order to help identify sites that have clearly not been recorded properly, users can click on a link underneath the map that will send an email to the administrator to alert them of a site that looks wrong or has an incorrect spelling or name. This link only appears on sites that have yet to be validated.

Note: These site maps are the basis for entering new counts – please ensure that your counts relate to the exact position of the site shown in the map. If the site map looks wrong, then click the link next to the map to notify the administrator.

Next to the site map is some simple information about the site as summarised in the following table:

Also, if you are registered, next to the map is a button to add the site to your own site list (), see My Sites, and If you have 'Validator' or 'Administrator' access levels then you will also see an icon for validating/invalidating the site ( or ).

To add the site to your list of frequently-used sites, for quick and easy future use, click on the icon at the top left of the site map (a message will then inform you that the site has been added). To view your ‘saved sites’ click on ‘My account’ on the main menu, then on ‘My sites’. You can delete a site from your saved sites list.

If you have 'Validator' or 'Administrator' access levels then you will also see icons for editing or deleting the site.

All colony counts and breeding success records that have been made within the selected site. See the Country Counts section for more information on the fields and how to sort the table.

The Data Entry form panes (one for whole colony counts, one for breeding success records) allows you to create/edit/delete records for the site and is the only way of creating new records. These panes are only visible if you have registered, applied for and been granted Recorder status.

Please note that currently this site is to be used for the submission of whole-colony counts and breeding success records only. In future  online data entry may be extended to cover other sample types that make up the Seabird Monitoring Programme. But for now, if you would like to submit repeated plot counts , please use the relevant downloadable form (or Contact us if you are a new contributor). A whole colony count is defined as a count or estimate of the number within a discrete colony or geographical unit and should use the same boundaries as those defined in the online database maps.

Note: Before entering count data, please ensure that the site position shown on the details pane is the same as that which you used in your counts. If not, please do not enter count records but inform the Administrator. In addition, please do not enter counts unless you have counted all of the site marked.

There are two ways of accessing the Data Entry Form panes: by selecting a site in the site hierarchy and then clicking on the relevant Data Entry Form  pane; or from the My sites button - click on Enter counts. This second method provides a quick and easy way of entering new counts or breeding success records for a site.

You will see a list of the existing counts or breeding success records and some data management buttons depending on your access levels. The records that you see will be all records for that site, regardless of who entered them. If you have entered some records for this particular site then yours will be shown with an edit and delete icon at the start of each of them (if they are from the current season). These allow you to edit or delete the record from the database. You cannot edit or delete records made by any other recorder, unless you have ‘Administrator’ access levels.

When in Data Entry pane, you are now able to enter new records. To create a new record, click on the Add button at the bottom left and wait for a new blank row to appear.

Species codes (BTO 5 letter codes)

Enter or select a species code as given by the following table. Press Tab to move onto the next field.

Accuracy code

Enter or select an accuracy code as given by the following table. Press Tab to move onto the next field.

If your count is a mean, plus standard error, standard deviation or 95% confidence interval, please put the mean in the Count column and add a Comment (see below) to show the error figures, and a concise explanation of the method, calculations, etc. used.

Unit code

Enter a unit code as given by the following table. Press Tab to move onto the next field. Please ensure you use the correct unit when you make the counts and that you enter the correct unit on the form.

Note: if your total count comprises more than one unit, e.g. a count of individual puffin and a count of apparently occupied puffin burrows, please enter a separate line for each component

Method code

A: Whole colony counts

Enter a unit code as given by the following table. Press Tab to move onto the next field. Please ensure you use the correct method code when you make the counts and that you enter the correct unit on the form.

Note: if a count for a species at a site comprises more than one method, e.g. a sea-based count and a land-based count, please enter a separate line for each component.

B: Breeding success records

Note: please refer to recommended methods here.

(Start) Date and End date

Under most circumstances, the Date and End Date should be the same, i.e. a single date entered, because each row in the table should relate to a single visit to a colony. Even if a single site was recorded over two or more days, please enter a row of data for each day - this allows factors such as changing weather conditions from day to day to be taken into account when assessing the total count. Press Tab to move onto the next field.

A different Date and End date should be used only where a survey was conducted over more than one day and where it would not be valid to enter subtotals over several rows. For example, a survey of a large puffin colony could involve taking samples of burrow density from different parts of a colony over four days and the mean of the density estimates multiplied by the total area of the colony. In this instance no estimate of numbers is obtained until the final calculation is made, so the Date column would be the first date of the survey and the End date the last date.

Note: Please note that re-counts of a site should not be entered on this form, as the counts you enter for a given species and site will be automatically added together in our database. If you made repeat counts you should only enter what you judge to be the most representative count or an average (not necessarily the highest), given the recommended count dates and time of day for each species (see Recommended dates and times below). Use the Comment field to provide further explanation, if required.

Start Date is the first date of the study (ie establishing number of nests/pairs); End Date is last visit to determine number of chicks fledged. These two dates can be the same.

Start and End time (colony counts only)

Enter a start and end time using the 24 hour clock with a colon separating the hours and minutes.

Visibility (colony counts only)

When entering values for Visibility, Sea State, Rain and Wind, please enter an average value and not a range. Use the Comments field to enter additional weather comments, if necessary.

Enter the visibility as given by the following table. Press Tab to move onto the next field.

Sea state (colony counts only)

Enter the sea state as given by the following table. Press Tab to move onto the next field.

Rain (colony counts only)

Enter a rain value as given by the following table. Press Tab to move onto the next field.

Wind (colony counts only)

Enter the wind from 0 to 4 and >4 on the Beaufort scale (note, counts generally unreliable above force 4 for fulmar, razorbill or guillemot). Press Tab to move onto the next field.

Comments

To add additional information that you think we should know about, please type in the comments field. Please be as concise as you can. If you have lengthy descriptions of methods or results, please supply separately - via email, preferably, and refer to this in the notes. To help you see what you have typed or are about to type, click on the icon by the comment field, and press ok to enter/save your comment.

Press Tab to submit your record or click the OK icon. If your record is submitted, then another row will be created and you can continue to enter new records for the site.

You can edit or delete your own records by clicking on the relevant icon in the Data Entry pane. Please do not edit or delete existing data without first contacting a scheme administrator!

The following table outlines the recommended dates and times for counts of breeding seabirds. Please try to use these recommendations as much as possible.

Simple information about the sample as shown in the following table:

All colony counts that have been made within the selected sample. See the Country Counts section for more information on the fields and how to sort the table.

The final pane in the site hierarchy is the Count Details pane which shows information on the count as in the following table:

For UK (except Northern Ireland) and Isle of Man the SMP website uses mapping data from Ordnance Survey®OpenSpace®as a backdrop to the sites to help locate and visualise them. For Ireland and Channel Islands Google mapping is used. In addition, satellite imagery is available. Although the high resolution imagery only covers a small proportion of the sites at the moment, Google have a rolling programme of improvement.

The map shows all of the sites/master sites for the selected item in the site hierarchy, depending on your profile settings (e.g. you may have opted to only show active sites or sites recorded since 2005). For example, if you have selected a county in the site hierarchy, then the map will show the position of all of the master sites and/or sites. To identify the sites/master sites, hover over them and the site/master site name will be shown - if it has start and end points then this will be shown too. To go to the site/master site, click the icon on the map.

The following icons are used in the map:

In many coastal sites the positions of the start and end points overlap, i.e. the end point of one site is the same as the start point for the next site, and in these cases it may appear that there are no end points. This is simply because the start point for the next site is on top of the end point of the previous site.

You can use the controls on the map to zoom, pan and reset the position of the map and there is also an overview window that shows the current position in a wider area (click the arrow icon to see the overview window).

The map also supports the display of the appropriate graticule for the area that you are viewing. Click on either GB Grid or I Grid to overlay that grid on the current map (this feature was developed by the British Trust for Ornithology - many thanks).

A full-page map, suitable for printing out and use in the field, is available: click on ‘View full age map’ at top left edge of map dispay.

This page is used to view and manage a personal list of sites for registered users. A users collection of sites can be used to quickly link to specific tasks related to their own sites, e.g. entering new counts for a site without having to navigate to the site in the site hierarchy.

To add sites to your personal list of sites, navigate to the site that you want to add and click on the add sites to list icon. To delete a site from your site list, click on the Delete icon in this page. This will only delete the site off your site list – it will not delete the site from the database.

Search for a site using site name. Click Sites at the top of the screen, then click Search for sites at the drop-down box that appears. Enter the name of the site you wish to find. If you are unsure of the exact site name, you can enter part of the name; for example, typing ‘head’ will call up all the sites with head in the title, in alphabetical order (scrolling to the bottom of the first page of results you will see that there is a total of 10 pages of results to choose from. When you have found the site you are after, click on the relevant link on the left of the screen to take you to the site.

Note: Master site names will also be included in your search results, e.g. if you search for May, then you will see sites that contain the text 'May' together with master sites that contain the text 'May', e.g. ‘Isle of May’.

This page allows you to quickly view a list of all of the counts that you have made using the online system. This page simply allows you to view you counts – if you want to edit them you have to go to the relevant Data Entry pane. You will only have access to this page if you are registered.

This page allows you to search for counts of a particular species. Select the species name from the list and the results will be displayed straight away.

This page allows you to flag newly entered counts as validated. You will only have access to this page if you have ‘Validator’ access levels. The table shows all counts which are currently not checked, and allows a Validator to tick the checked box to flag the count as checked. Once the count has been checked, it will disappear from the table.

This page allows all users to edit their own preferences for the website. The following user profile properties are shown:

In order to change your preferences, click on the edit icon at the bottom of the screen, make your changes and then click on the save changes icon.

Use this page to change your password for the website.

Use this page to request greater access to the website. For example, if you want to be able to enter new records online then check the ‘Recorder’ access level, write a justification and click Request. If you have been a regular contributor of counts in the past, this description need be very brief, though a fuller description is asked for if you have not previously submitted data to the Seabird Monitoring Programme.

This page shows information on how to contact the Seabird Monitoring Programme Team.

Use this page to login to the system if you are a registered user. If you have already registered, then you can create a new account by clicking on Register here. See Register for more details. If you have forgotten your password then click on the Forgotten Password. See Forgotten Password for more details. If you have not used the system for more than 20 minutes then you will be automatically redirected to the login page.

You do not need to register to view sites and their records but do if you wish to enter or edit records (when you’ll also need to request greater access). Please enter your full name (first and surname), online user name (this can be the same or different than your full name, though you will be required to enter it every time you use the site), a password of your choice (more than 6 letters) and your email address. When you have entered all these details, click on Create Account. You will be now be registered to use the site and you will be sent an email.

Use this page to be sent a reminder of your password. Enter you user name and click submit. Your password will be emailed to you.

Use this page to manage users that are registered to use the website. You will only have access to this page if you have ‘Administrator’ access levels. To Delete a user, click on the Delete icon – this will delete the user and any counts they have made. To Update a users access levels, click on the user name and then update their access levels using the access levels page.

November 2010