[ravenclare]

Hi all, I am currently carrying out research for my 3rd year major project of my Multimedia degree, and my initial idea for this project is to create a website that revolves around Bird watching to aid Bird watchers to locate where rare birds or even common birds can be located around the UK.

I'd like to make this website as useful as possible for bird watchers and one aspect that will be incorporated into the website is an interactive map where you, the users, can add the location of the birds, rare or common, around the UK. Other interactive elements that will be included will be a forum, perhaps a shop for books and equipment and twitter feeds.

However, as bird watchers, I would like to know if there is anything else that you would like to see from a bird watching site and also, would a bird watching site with the latest information about birds be of any interest to you?

Thank you all and all replies are very much appreciated

[Hawk_Eye]

Sounds good. Might also be worth-while having a section on rights of way or something like that. Don't want to be following a bird and find yourself trespassing on private land.

By the way welcome to the forum.

[cabbage]

Hi and welcome to the forum!

Sounds like a good idea. Have you considered however that its not always a good idea to publicise the location of some birds especially rare ones? Quite a few birdwatchers can be very secretive about some of the birds on their patch, usually for the birds sake - though I know of one local guy who had a rare something or other (I'm not much of a birdwatcher really) visiting his garden who was keeping it very quiet as he didn't want hordes of twitchers in his hedges!

[Hawk_Eye]

Hi and welcome to the forum!

Sounds like a good idea. Have you considered however that its not always a good idea to publicise the location of some birds especially rare ones? Quite a few birdwatchers can be very secretive about some of the birds on their patch, usually for the birds sake - though I know of one local guy who had a rare something or other (I'm not much of a birdwatcher really) visiting his garden who was keeping it very quiet as he didn't want hordes of twitchers in his hedges!

I don't get this twitching mentality. Wildlife is something to observe, enjoy and learn about not something to tick off on a list.

[Thylacine]

Yes and it's rare breeding species which can't be publicised either for risk of egg /chick collectors eg. raptors, bustards, cranes, orioles, shrikes etc etc But these are actually the species that people most want to see. You've got to limiot this sort of information for the sake of the species.

Hawk-eye, twitching isn't all that bad - honestly - it's quite fun to a mild degree.... ah my discredited youth.