Field notes are permanent records of your field observations.  They are written while you are in the field - NEVER written later or recopied (errors always creep in when you recopy things!) - describing what you see in the field.  The field notes are kept as a permanent record of what you have observed in the field.  Some universities and museums keep the field notebooks of professors and/or students as permanent records for use by other people interested in the areas and species included in the notes.  Others are kept by the individuals who wrote them, but are often made available to other researchers.  To facilitate use by many people, field notes are kept in a strict, standardized format.  You will be expected to take notes in such a format.  You will use one of the main formats - the "Berkeley" format - for field notes.

Rules for field notes:

1. The field notebook is a hard-backed, loose-leaf notebook.  Acceptable binder sizes are for paper that is roughly 6x9 inches; anything that differs from this by more than 1/2 inch in each dimension is NOT acceptable.  Typical available sizes are 6 x 9.5 inches or 5.5 x 8.5 inches.  Paper must be lined.  Use black, waterproof (test it ahead of time!) ink.  In black, waterproof ink, draw in a 1 inch left margin.

2. Your field notebook will consist of species accounts for each individual species and a journal of general observations for each field period.  You will be shown examples of field notebook species accounts and journal entries to help you with yours.

Species accounts:

Format (you must adhere to this format)

3.  At the top of the page, write the name of the species to be dealt with on that page.  Use the standard common name for the species (you may put the scientific name in addition if you like).   Place the species name high enough so that there is space between it and the locality, which goes on the first line.

4.  In the upper left-hand corner of each page, to the left of the left margin line, write your name, and, below your name, the year.

5.  On the first line, to the right of the margin, enter the locality for the species observation your are recording.  The locality must include the general location (e.g. Reelfoot Lake) and county and state; it also must include specific details (e.g. 200 m from nature center, ...).  The idea is so that someone 50 years from now who wanted to find out something about where this species occurred in 2000 could look at your field notebook and get the information s/he needed.  Underline the locality with a wavy line (this makes locality headings stand out).  Enter the locality heading at the top of each page, even if it is continued from a previous page.

6.  On the line below the locality, to the left of the margin, write the date.  Write the month and day; do NOT use numerical abbreviations.  Put the date (month and day) in the left margin of each page, even if continued from the previous page.  Other than the date (and your name and the year at the top of the page) do not put anything in the left margin.

7.  Write only on one side of the paper

8.  If you have more than one account on a page (as you often will), do not leave blank lines between the accounts.  Since you will have localities underlined with wavy lines, and dates in the left margin, it will be easy to pick out different accounts on the page without blank lines between them so don't waste the space.
 Content of species accounts

 9.  Enter facts as observed for that species, at the moment; also any inferences that seem to follow logically from those facts.  Put down observations at once, as made.  Do not leave any notes on individual species to be written up at the end of the day.  Memory is treacherous!  DO NOT COPY pages, even if soiled.  Original pages should be kept as authentic records of field work.

10.  Observations will include: "field" characteristics observed that allow you to identify the species, nature of immediate environment, behavior, voice, reactions to danger, foraging, mating, and nesting habits; in other words, where each species is found, how it looks and sounds, and what it does.   Every sort of fact definitely observed should be recorded; and observations even of the same nature should be repeated again and again, as opportunity recurs, for each species.

11.  Make observations as detailed as possible.  Note kinds and species of plants, when pertinent.  Be as specific as you can; say "conifer" or "broadleaf tree" if you don't know species.  Also note approximate size of tree and where in the tree the bird was (crown? trunk? low branches?).  Is it feeding? if so, where, and using what methods?  Is it singing?  How does it move while singing?  Is it interacting with other individuals of the same or different species?  If so, describe the interaction.  Is it flying?  If so, about how high up is it?  does it soar, flap wings continuously, or flap intermittently?

12.  Quantify where possible.  How high up in a tree is the bird?  How far from cover?  How many individuals are in a flock?  How many calls are given per unit time?  How many feeding trips to a nest per unit time?

13.  At first, as you learn to identify birds, you may with to record detailed descriptions of birds plumage and vocalizations in your notebook.  Once you have learned to positively identify a species of bird, do not repeat the detailed description.  When observing species that are similar to others (for example, purple finches versus house finches) you should briefly indicate the field characteristic or characteristics that allowed you to identify the species; otherwise, you do not need to describe the details of plumage/appearance just for identification.  You can also use descriptions of plumage and voice if you are observing how these traits appear to function; for example, descriptions of plumage or vocalization as related to comments on crypticity or conspicuousness, sex identification, displays, etc. are always good.

14.  Enter the time of day in species account; indicate a.m. or p.m. or use a 24-hour clock.

15.  If you record second-hand information (something you have not observed yourself) give the source.  Do not make a species account if ALL you have for that species is second-hand information.

16.  Use a concise, telegraphic style in recording field observations.  Select words of explicit meaning.  Diagrams or sketches are often helpful.

17.  At the outset, the species records will be entered in the field notebook in the order in which the species have been met in the field.  Subsequently, they should be sorted into taxonomic order, based on the order in the current A.O.U Checklist (e.g. start with loons, grebes; end with passerines).  Remember you will often be making entries on species you have seen before, and that they must continue on the same species account page, so if you have to sort through randomly ordered species account pages you will never find the right page before the bird has flown away!  Tabs or an index can be used to help you find the species quickly.

Journal

18.  At the close of each period in the field,  write a journal (a general account of observations ).  Head the pages you use with the caption "Journal" and with the date and locality designations, in the same format as that used for species accounts, for the entry.  In the journal give route of travel (or draw a map), hours of observation, weather conditions, habitats and topography, lists of species seen with estimated numbers of each species, and general impressions such as apply to groups of species.  As with species accounts, start subsequent day's journal entry of journal immediately beneath previous entries, with necessary headings as to date and place.  Group the journal entries (in order of date) in the front of your field notebook.  (Helpful hint:  you may wish to make a brief reminder list on the inside cover of your field notebook of the items that should be included each time in your journal write-up)

19.  Use the same format for journal pages as described for species accounts, except put "Journal" at the top of each page instead of species name.  Write your name and the year as in the species accounts, and include the general location where you were for the field period at the top of each page.

20.  If you put extensive notes on a particular species in your notebook, put a cross-reference on the appropriate species account page in that day's journal entry so that you can find the information again.

GRADING: Your field notebooks will be collected at the end of some of the lab field periods, without advance warning.  You will also turn in your field notebook on the day of the last field quiz.  Point value is given on the course syllabus.