Tuesday 26 March 2013

Wikia- Sussex bird news

http://sussex-bird-news.wikia.com/wiki/Sussex_Bird_News_Wiki an interesting idea, the brainchild of some friends on Facebook (by the way, anyone on Facebook, join the group 'Brighton and Sussex Birders', it will appear if you type it into the search bar!). It's based on a very similar method used by the London Bird Club (http://londonbirders.wikia.com/wiki/LatestNews), and we feel it might be a good way of spreading news, should it catch on! Anyone can upload sightings, you don't need a Wikia account, and sightings can be uploaded instantaneously.

Thus, it combines the key elements of the Sussex Ornithological Society's sightings board (that anyone can post a sighting to be shared), with that of the major Bird News Services (sightings can be shared instantaneously), and is completely free. I hope it might grow over the years to be a success, and perhaps even a new revolution in information sharing for sussex birders. The possibilities with Wikia are almost endless, (I'm already starting to add site-specific gen, which I hope may develop into a full gazetteer of Sussex over time), and as time goes on, it will expand and improve exponentially, I hope. The key, really, is that we get enough people posting to make it work! I try not to plug things on here, but I'm plugging this, as it's quite a simple idea- take two minutes out of your day to add your sightings to this page!

If anyone has any questions about using Wikia, please feel free to e-mail me at liamd4034@live.co.uk, or join the Facebook group 'Brighton and Sussex Birders', where there will be other knowledgeable people who can help you (plus you get to be part of a great Facebook group of local birders). thanks for reading this!!

In other news, a Barn Owl has been spotted by yours truly the last two days, as I made my way home from college on the train, it's been hunting the fields around Newhaven Tide Mills! best seen quartering over the long grass between the Mill Creek and the Railway Line at dusk. :) 

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