Hobby in UK March - quality assurance news

[mafting]

Originally Posted by mick cunningham

also, re the brit scene - brit ornithological science is, in large part, based on the work of amateur ie general birders who were scrupulous re their records.

Aside from BTO and RSPB surveys, I'm not sure of that if you're talking about post 1950. British ornithological science is based, in the most part, on the work of universities, public sector research councils and the paid scientists of charities and trusts. The output of British ornithological science can mainly be found in journals such as Bird Study, Ibis, Ornis Fennica, Journal of Animal Ecology etc. Not many "amateur general birders" (not affiliated to a professional or academic institution) publish there. The only publications where amateurs and professionals commonly share a platform is Ringing & Migration and British Birds. This is reflected in their non ISI rating.

The records of "amateur general birders", while they may be scrupulous, are not usually appropriate for ornithological scientific research as they are not systematic and standardised (hence the BTO Atlas wants a timed tetrad visit, not just incidental records as submitted to BirdTrack). Virtually all of the fieldwork that feeds into the studies that are published in the scientific journals is undertaken by qualified or training scientists (usually of post-graduate qualification level). So there is quite a gulf in training between general birders and ornithological scientists in Britain. But that's not to say that some scientists are also general birders, just that birding isn't the same as scientific fieldwork.

[MichaelF]

Originally Posted by mafting

Please upload that to Youtube. It should be used as a warning to anyone considering buying a pager!

Hmmmm . . . can't encourage breach of copyright! Best not to do so, the Beeb will be very alert to copyright issues.

[Colin Key]

Originally Posted by mafting

Please upload that to Youtube. It should be used as a warning to anyone considering buying a pager!

It wasn't the pagers which I found intrusive but the two-way ("talkie-talkie") radios - whenever Dick Filby was being interviewed his walkie-talkie screeched into action with news of a new "mega" in the next field; I do not for one second think that it was contrived - "read you, over and out".

Still great entertainment, though.

Colin