So, I'm not new to Zoos, but new to the world of zoochatters and I haven't ever really recorded my visits, except with photographs. But what about you..? how/what do you record when you go to a zoo? Do you have a fresh notebook for each visit or perhaps a spreadsheet? Do you record species separately? (ie some kind of ticklist?) Do you only take photos and buy a guide? let me know...
When I visit a zoo I take many photographs, including signage which is one method I use for if I'm taking an exhibit photograph to remember what species are in it, especially in mixed exhibits or ones in which the species isn't obvious (such as vivariums). When at a zoo I often scribble down notes on paper or in the 'notes' of my phone which I usually later transfer to a word document. For species lists, I have a table on my computer in which I record all species I have ever seen (or remember seeing) in my lifetime. This is still a work in progress for me though because I only recently started with this so have to transfer notes from my zoo visits.
When I visit any zoo, new or not, I always bring my camera and a notepad. I put the name of the zoo at the top of a new page and I record either the common or scientific names of each species I see (depending on whether the common name used is one that I'll be able to find online later on) as I go, taking up as many pages as necessary. I also try to photograph most of the species I see that are new or that I find particularly interesting/don't have a good photo of already. ~Thylo
I take photos of signs of every species, as well as of individual species and exhibits. Where signs are not present, e.g. on bus tours of specific areas, etc, I jot down the species seen, usually just on the map. Later (sometimes much later) I write down each species in a word doc, so I have a species list for that zoo. And then once I have done that I add the species list to my life list, in an Excel speradsheet, which includes every species I have ever seen, both captive and wild. Examples of species lists can be found in this thread: http://www.zoochat.com/2/lists-219677/
