The reason the hour is so important is to apply some kind of scientific baseline to the survey. If some people do the survey for a strict hour, but others list everything they've ever seen in their garden, the data become less meaningful from a scientific point of view.
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It's clear to see why, as a scientific survey, the one hour rule at the times specified has been in place.....but what about birds that do not appear during this time....OWLS!? Some of us are lucky enough to have regular owls who are only sighted at dawn or after dusk and cannot therefore record them. In view of concerns about the Barn Owl population, for example, is there any survey that takes them into account please?
Wyllow , I'm not aware of any specific surveys being undertaken at the moment but your county recorder will always be interested in receiving details of your sitings. As well as the county recorder there are various groups around the country who would also be interested.
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