Frequently Asked Questions  
 
 
About using the site

What information can I find on the Rare Bird Alert web-site?
The Rare Bird Alert web-site presents messages sent to the Rare Bird Alert Pagers in an easy-to-use and convenient manner. These messages include news about the occurrences of birds, insects, cetaceans and land mammals as well as supporting information such as traffic news. The area covered is mostly Britain and Ireland, but news of interest from the rest of Europe is frequently included.

Messages sent to the Rare Bird Alert Pagers will appear on this web-site. In order to view these messages, you will have to be a registered user of the Rare Bird Alert web-site.

In addition to the messages sent to the Pagers, the Rare Bird Alert web-site also contains a photo gallery and direct access to maps pin-pointing the location of a site where a species has been reported.

Messages are displayed in 5 customisable reports.

Reports
To see a list of the available reports, move the mouse over the Reports option in the Menu, at the top of the Main Window. The options include:
  • "All Today’s News" Report
    This report displays all the news sent out today.
  • "Today's Main News" Report
    Use this report to display all the messages sent to the pagers. This is particularly useful for looking at messages sent some time ago. By default the report will present all the messages sent to the National Channel and above, today. Use the Filters to change conditions of this report.
  • "Location" Report
    Use this report to display messages pertaining to a particular location. You can also specify a radius to include news of interest from locations in the vicinity.
  • "Single Species" Report
    The "Single Species" Report will display all messages referring to the selected Species. Use this report, with a location Filter to find out when a particular species was last seen on your local patch.
  • "All the News, by Species" Report
    Use this report to list messages by the species that they contain.
  • Gallery
    Visit the Gallery to see photographs of the latest rarities.
In addition, today’s breaking news about new Rare and Mega-rare Species can be seen on the Web-Pager, at the top of the Main Window.



Is it only Bird news?
No. The Rare Bird Alert web-site contains information about rare butterflies, moths and other insects, as well as cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) and land mammals of particular interest in Britain and Ireland. Rare Bird Alert also regularly provides important traffic news and other information which may be of interest to bird-watchers, including: bird news from Europe, requests and offers for lifts, news about bird club meetings and special offers on books and optical equipment.




What is the Web-Pager?
The Web-Pager is displayed at the top of the Main Window. Any breaking news about rarities will appear in this pager. Use the buttons to navigate through the messages.

Pager



How do I use the Web-Pager?
The Web-Pager has 4 buttons:

Pager Buttons

M Button Use the 'M' button to display "All Today’s News". Please note that this will reload the report currently contained in the Main Window.
Square Button Use the 'SQUARE' button to move to the "Single Species" report, where you will be able to view all the news about the rarity at that location. No report will be returned if there are no new rarities that day.
Up Button Use the 'UP' button to move to the previous message.
Down Button Use the 'DOWN' button to more to the next message.

You can click on the message itself to move directly to the "Single Species" report, where you will be able to view all the news about the rarity at the current location. Please note that this will replace the information currently displayed in the Main Window.



How can I get to the Top of the Main Window quickly?
    On a PC running Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator:
  • Click on the Main Window to make sure that it is in focus.
  • Press CTRL + HOME to move to the top of the window.



How can I get to the Web-Pager quickly?
    On a PC running Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator:
  • Click on the Main Window to make sure that it is in focus.
  • Press CTRL + HOME to move to the top of the window.



How can I get to the Menu quickly?
    On a PC running Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator:
  • Click on the Main Window to make sure that it is in focus.
  • Press CTRL + HOME to move to the top of the window.



What is the "Today's Main News" Report?
By default the "Main News" Report will display all messages sent today to the Rare Bird Alert Pager, on the National Channel or above. Adjust the filters at the bottom of the screen to customise this report to your requirements.To access the “Main News” Report, select REPORT and MAIN NEWS from the menu at the top of the page.



What is "All Today’s News"?
The "All Today’s News" Report is a special case of the "Main News" Report. All messages sent today to the Rare Bird Alert Pagers are displayed, including those sent to the Local channel.

Use the filter bar at the bottom of the screen to customise this report to meet your requirements.



What is the "Location" Report?
The "Location" Report will display all the news for a particular location. You can move to the "Location" Report by selecting LOCATION from the REPORTS option in the menu, or you can move to it by clicking on the name of a location in any report.

If you move into the "Location" Report by clicking on a location name in another report the report will display information about that location.

If you move into the "Location" Report by clicking on the option in the menu you will be prompted to select a Location before the report is displayed.

At the top of the "Location" Report you will find a link to Multi-Map where a map of the area will be displayed for your convenience.

The filter bar at the bottom of the screen can be used to change the location and to further customise the report.



I only want news about one particular bird.
Throughout the Rare Bird Alert web site - if you click on the name of a species the "Single Species" Report will automatically be displayed. However, by default, this report will be restricted to messages concerning that species at a particular location.

If you want to view all messages about a species, regardless of location - select REPORTS and SINGLE SPECIES from the menu. You will be prompted to select a species. The resultant report will be free of constraints on the Location. You can use the filters at the bottom of the screen to select a specific location, or another species.



How can I list messages by the species contained within them?
From the menu at the top of the page, select REPORTS "ALL THE NEWS, BY SPECIES" to view the "News by Species" Report. By default this report will display messages for today, sorted by Taxanomic Sequence. The filters are displayed at the bottom of the screen and you can use these to govern the contents of the report.

Because most message sent to the Rare Bird Alert pagers contain news about more than one species, this report, as well as the Single Species report, display details about the species (including when and where it was seen) and the associated Pager Message. It is therefore possible that the same pager message is repeated many times – once for each species or each species at a specific location.



What is the Gallery?
From the menu at the top of the page select OTHER FEATURES - GALLERY. Here you will find pictures of the latest rarities from around Britain. The pictures are sorted in relation to the date they were added to the website and not when the picture was taken. This will ensure you never miss a new photo.




Can I submit my own sightings to Rare Bird Alert?
It is possible to submit your own sightings.From the menu at the top of the page, select SUBMIT A SIGHTING.




How can I find out what’s happening on my local patch?
  • Select LOCATION from the REPORTS option in the menu at the top of the screen.
  • Click on the Region that you are interested in (for example East Anglia). A pop-up menu will appear – from which you can either select the entire region, or a specific county. (for example Norfolk)
  • If you want news about a specific site (for example Cley-next-the-sea) you need to select the appropriate County (in this case Norfolk).

    Select Location


    Then follow these steps:

  • Click on A-M to select a Site and the select Cley-next-the-sea from the list.
    (Obviously if the site that you want does not begin with the letters A through to and including M, click on N-Z instead).
  • A specific site is likely to be very restrictive - so to increase the range - tick the box next to “Include sites within a radius of” and select an appropriate radius (say 10km to include Blackney and Salthouse).

    Select Location


  • Click on OK
  • Click on OK to confirm your selection.



How can I find out when a bird was last seen on my local patch?
The best approach to solving this problem is to use the Single Species report and to apply a location filter on the report.

  • Select REPORTS on the menu
  • Select SINGLE SPECIES
  • You will be prompted to select a species from the Select a Species pop-up window. Select the species and click on OK
  • The "Single Species" report will open with news about the species you have selected. By default it will display news about the species regardless of the location.
  • Set the Location filter to your local patch. Include a radius if you want news for sites adjacent to the site you have selected.
  • Click on Select above Area/Site in the filter bar at the bottom of the window.
  • Click on the Region where your local patch is, and select the appropriate County.
  • Click on A-M or N-Z as appropriate (e.g. for Salthouse - click on N-Z or Cley-next-the-sea - click on A-M).
  • Select the site from the list in the Select a Site pop-up window.
  • If you want to enlarge the scope - select the radius option and set the number of kilometres you want the radius to be.
  • Click on OK
  • Click on OK in the Select an Area pop-up window to confirm your selection.
  • Click on Apply Filter in the filter bar.



Is there a quick way to find out what news was sent out today?
The quickest way to view the main news sent out today is to click on the "M" button on the Web-Pager at the top of the page.
Alternatively you can click on REPORTS in the menu and select MAIN NEWS or ALL TODAY’S NEWS from the pop-up menu.



Is there a quick way to find out what news was sent out yesterday?
To view the messages sent out yesterday open the "Main News" Report and set the Date Sent filter to "yesterday":

  • Click on REPORTS in the menu.
  • Select TODAY'S MAIN NEWS from the pop-up menu
  • In the filter bar, at the bottom of the screen - select "yesterday" from the options above Date Sent (see picture below)


    • Filter For Yesterday


  • Click APPLY FILTER.



Where can I find the messages sent out during the last 9 days?
To view the messages sent out over the last 9 days, open the "Main News" Report (if you want the highlights only) or “All Today’s News” Report (if you want all the messages sent) and set the Date Sent filter to “last 9 days”:

  • Click on REPORTS in the menu at the top of the Main Window.
  • Select TODAY'S MAIN-NEWS from the pop-up menu.
  • In the filter bar at the bottom of the screen - select "last 9 days" from the options above Date Sent.
  • Click on APPLY FILTER.



How can I find a particular message?
Finding a particular message is made easier with the Search Message filter.

If for example you wanted to find a message sent out today concerning the spectacular northern lights display or aurora borealis - you might follow these steps:
  • Move to the "Main News" report.
    In this case the aurora borealis message may not pertain to a particular location - so the "Location" report would not be useful. For similar reasons the "Single Species" report and "News by Species" report would also not be useful.
  • Click on REPORTS in the menu and MAIN NEWS
  • Type aurora borealis in the Message Search filter


    • Search the Message Text

  • Select "today" in the Date Sent filter.
    Generally, setting the Date Sent filter will greatly increase the performance of your search - particularly if you limit the search to "today", "yesterday" or even "last 9 days".
  • Click on Apply Filters.

Hint - if you are unsure of the spelling of a particular word - you can use "Wildcard" characters:
*to represent any number of characters, e.g.b*t will find: bat, boat and bushchat.
?to represent a single character, e.g.gr?y wil find grey and gray but will not find greasy or grassy.

Hint - The Search Message Filter is not as effective for finding messages relating to a species or a location - in these cases use the appropriate reports. (When messages are sent to pagers they often contain abbreviations both with regards to the name of the location and the name of the species, and in some cases any one of several abbreviations could be used. It may not be possible to include all of these abbreviations in a search using the Search Message Filter - this could result in some important messages not being displayed).



What are Filters?
Filters restrict the content of a report. Filters applicable to the current report are displayed at the bottom of the screen in a dark green rectangle – easily identifiable with the large friendly "Apply Filter" button (see picture below).



How do I use Filters?
Click on the highlighted areas of the image below for detailed explanations of the filter bar elements.


Channel
To select a Channel filter click on the Channel button. A pop-up window will appear – select the Channel you wish to use and click on OK.

Date Sent
Use the drop-down list above Date Sent to specify a Date Sent filter.The choices are:
"today"
"yesterday"
"last 9 days"
"between dates"

The between dates option will open the "Select a Date Range" pop-up window to open. Select the dates that you want using the options in the drop-down lists and click on OK.

The dates are inclusive, so if you select 05 Jan 2001 as the start date and 05 Feb 2001 as the end date then messages sent from midnight 04 Jan 2001 to midnight 05 Feb 2001 will be returned.

Select Area/Site
Use the Select Area/Site to restrict the search to messages about a particular location. This button will cause the Select Area window to be opened. You can use the map to select Regions or Counties.

If you select a specific County you can further enhance the search by clicking on the buttons A-M or M-Z and selecting a specific site from the Select a Site pop-up window. You will also have the option to search for sites within a specific radius.

Message Search
You can search for a particular string using this filter. The text that you enter here will be matched in the actual Pager Message. You cannot use double quote characters (“) or apostrophes (‘) in the search string.

Sort By
Use the options in the drop down list to determine how the messages will be sorted.

Apply Filter
The Apply Filter will pulse between yellow and green if conditions have been set in the filters. If you click the button, the currently selected filters will be applied and a new report will appear in the Main Window.

Species
This option is only available in the "Single Species" Report and "News by Species" Report – it replaces the Channel filter. Click on this button to open the Select a Species window.

Current Selection
The current selection represents the currently selected filters. When the report loads – the selected filters are displayed in a light yellow colour, for example, the default filters for the "Main News" Report (see picture below).

Current Selection


The current filter is also shown at the top of the report (highlighted in red below).

Current Selection

When you make changes to the filter, using the various buttons and lists on the filter bar – the changed filters appear in the current selection in a deeper yellow, and the Apply Filter button begins to flash.

Current Selection





What is a Channel?
The different channels on the pager can be thought of as mail boxes which receive different types of messages. For example all the local news for Norfolk & Suffolk will be found on a different channel to local news for Lincolnshire and on a different channel again from personal messages or mega alerts.




What do the icons mean?
 
Escaped
The individual has possibly or probably escaped from captivity.
 
Negative News
The news may indicate that the individual(s) is no longer present at the location, or is dead, or has been misidentified and is not the species it was originally thought to be.
 
New Megas
This indicates that the message contains important news about a new mega-rare species.
 
New Rarities
This indicates that the message contains new important information about a rare species.
 
Rarities
This indicates that a message contains updated news about a rare species which had previously been reported.
 
National
This message contains information which may be of interest to anyone in Britain and Ireland
 
Local
Messages displaying this icon generally have very limited or local appeal.
 
General Announcement
 
"Euronews"
Important news or news of interest from Europe, North Africa and related Islands (generally the Western Palearctic).



Is there a limit to the amount of information I can see at one time?
A single report cannot display more than 20 pages. Each page contains approximately 300 messages and 20 pages amounts to approximately one fortnights worth of detailed news.

If the filters applied to a particular report result in more than 20 pages being returned you will only be able to view the first 20 pages.

In order to experience the best results from the Rare Bird Alert web site it is recommended that you use the filters to restrict the amount of information that a report returns.



What Cookies does the RBA-website create on my computer?
The RBA website keeps two cookies on your computer, which are used to identify you when you login.
Some Web sites store information in a small text file on your computer, this file is called a cookie.
As you browse the web, cookies sent to your copy of the web browser you use are stored in memory. When you quit the browser, any cookies that haven't expired are written to a cookie file so they can be reloaded next time you run your browser.
A cookie file cannot be used to by other people to find out every site you have ever visited, nor is it possible for anyone to get any information from your hard drive.




When will a report have multiple pages, and when will it not?
If the Time Sent filter is set to Today then all the messages will be displayed and the report will not be broken up into “pages”.

If the Time Sent filter is not specified or is not set to "Today" then the messages are displayed in “pages”. Each “page” will contain approximately 300 messages. The maximum number of pages that will be returned to be viewed cannot exceed 20 – if it does, the first 20 pages are made available. In order to view more information you will have to refine the filters and re-apply them.

To see if a report has multiple pages, wait until the entire page has loaded and move to the bottom of the page. If you see this:
Then the report has multiple pages (In this case 3).