What to put on a bird tally sheet

Set the counting rule

Cornell's sheet asks whether you are reporting all species identified. That answer changes how another reader interprets the list.

Put the rule into practice

Steps for a reliable tally

1. Start with the location and time.
2. Add separate species lines as you identify birds; write uncertainty or behavior in notes.
3. Confirm whether the list includes all species detected.
4. Review the sheet before leaving the site: species, numbers, effort and notes should all be legible.
5. An unidentified bird can go in descriptive notes rather than a guessed species line.

Why this detail matters

A species count is not the same as a count of all birds at the site. Record what you identified and how you identified it. When uncertain birds are omitted, say so in the notes. The sheet's effort fields let later readers understand what the observer actually did.

In the field

Review the species names before leaving the field while the observations are fresh. A note such as “small brown bird” may be more honest than a confident but uncertain identification. When sharing data, the sheet's location and effort fields are as important as the species totals.

What can go wrong?

Species totals without time and place cannot be interpreted as a repeatable survey.

Common questions