Thursday 4 April 2013

One million UK dragonfly records!



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The British Dragonfly Society (BDS) started work on the new Atlas in 2008 when the database held 530,000 records.
Dragonfly atlas reaches 1,000,000 records

March 2013. The British Dragonfly Society (BDS) now has more than one million records of dragonflies in the UK! This stunning and remarkable achievement has been reached after a co-ordinated recording effort fuelled by the society's atlas project. The project started in 2008 with the aim of mapping the complete distribution of dragonflies in Britain.

1 millionth record
During the five year survey period the total number of observations of dragonflies has almost doubled and the target of one million records has been achieved. This milestone was marked this week by a special award to Ingrid Twissell. Her record of a Ruddy Darter from Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire on 9th August 2012 was the one millionth entry to the BDS database. She was presented with a signed Richard Lewington print of a Ruddy Darter at the British Dragonfly Society's annual Recorders' Conference. This milestone in recording also coincides with the 30th anniversary of the BDS.

Scotland and Wales
Even more impressive than reaching the target of one million records has been the extent of coverage for the new atlas, particularly in Scotland and Wales. Here potential dragonfly habitat in virtually all under-recorded areas has been surveyed for records. This has only been possible through the dedicated efforts of a small team of volunteers coordinated by the British Dragonfly Society's Dragonfly Recorder Network. Coverage has also been aided by recorders arranging dragonfly recording holidays to more remote parts of the British Isles. As a result, the atlas to be published later this year will provide a comprehensive picture of the current status of these fascinating insects and allow future changes to be monitored.


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