I am very much enjoying using iRecord, as recommended by Dave so long ago. It has prompted this post because I reported the visitor above (it's the same insect, photographed at sunrise from the West and then the East) as a Purple Thorn and the automatic pre-expert checker has flagged up that I am outside its previously-known area. So here I am, as usual, asking what you think. Most grateful, as ever, for enlightenment.
The moths have been terrific this last week and I celebrated with the collage, below. At the bottom are the wings' owners. Martin Wainwright, Thrupp, Oxon
Hi Martin that just means it doesn't happen to have been recorded in the square you are in, which shows the value of what you doing. Its a common moth and there are many records for VC23 Martin
ReplyDeleteAnother thing to remember is that iRecord uses NBN Gateway data when doing its automatic checks for flight-time and location. I'm sure Martin H. will correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is that the NBN's records for moths are still WAY out-of-date due to an "interface issue" between BC's database and the NBN which has prevented much of the recent atlas data being uploaded. Hopefully this will be resolved in time.
ReplyDeleteIn the meantime it does explain why you could perhaps have sent Martin T. a record of Purple Thorn from your garden last year, yet in 2020, now you are using iRecord, it suggests the moth isn't known from your area!
Thanks so much both, as always. I'm really enjoying iRecord - and not just for moths. The experts are brilliantly generous with their time and knowledge, like you. All warm wishes M
ReplyDeleteThis is a lengthy reply for people interested in the minutiae of data systems, and doesn't affect anything material from the replies above, but to clarify:
ReplyDeleteThe automatic notifications about things being out of range are not derived directly from the NBN Atlas records. They were originally compiled by the various recording schemes (NMRS for moths) as a set of stand-alone rules that were originally for use with a stand-alone piece of software, the "NBN Record Cleaner". The rules were subsequently incorporated into iRecord. The moth rules have been updated once or twice but inevitably don't always keep up with what the moths and recorders are doing! NMRS is currently working on another update.
In addition, iRecord now 'learns' from the verifiers, so that if a record has been accepted a few times in a particular square the system no longer queries it as being out of range, regardless of what the rules say.
At the moment the 'out of range' messages are still getting triggered more than perhasp they should (although it's better to be on the cautious side when checking records!), but they are improving over time as more people use the system.
Thanks so much for this which bears out the value of iRecord. Certainly I am a new man because of it. I'm also greatly relieved that my quaint, old-fashioned list from my blog going back to 2013 is very kindly being put into the TVERC database by a brave volunteer. I'm interested that I've not yet had any moth verifications (or corrections!) on iRecord, compared with speedy ones of caddisflies, slugs and butterflies. I guess it's the extent of demand, which is great. I'm not complaing at all - it's brilliant that the experts are so generous with knowledge and time. Like those on this blog. Many thanks to all. M
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