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Weather Data in Inventories

Weather conditions can strongly influence bird detectability, activity patterns, and survey quality. Xolmis Mobile allows you to record basic weather information for each inventory so that your data can be interpreted accurately during analysis.

Weather data is optional, but highly recommended for standardized surveys.

What Weather Data Includes

Each weather record contains the following fields:

  • Cloud cover – general sky condition
  • Precipitation – rain, drizzle, none, etc.
  • Temperature – ambient temperature at the time of sampling
  • Wind speed – estimated or measured
  • Wind direction – cardinal direction
  • Atmospheric pressure – optional field
  • Relative humidity – optional field

These fields provide a snapshot of environmental conditions during the inventory.

Adding Weather Data

To add weather data:

  1. Open the inventory.
  2. Go to the Weather tab.
  3. Tap the + button in the lower-right corner.
  4. Select Weather data.
  5. Fill in the available fields.
  6. Save the record.

Editing Weather Data

To edit an existing weather entry:

  1. Long-press the weather record in the list.
  2. Tap the Edit icon.
  3. Update the fields as needed.
  4. Save your changes.

Changes are applied immediately.

Weather Reminders

Xolmis Mobile can remind you to fill in weather data when finishing an inventory.

To enable reminders:

  • Go to Settings → Inventories
  • Enable Remind missing weather data

When finishing an inventory without weather data:

  • A dialog appears with options to:
  • Cancel (return to the inventory)
  • Ignore (finish without weather data)
  • Add (open the weather form)

This helps maintain consistent data collection across surveys.

Exporting Weather Data

Weather information is included when exporting inventories in:

  • CSV
  • Excel
  • JSON

Weather data is not included in KML exports (which contain only geographic coordinates).

When to Record Weather Data

Weather data is especially useful when:

  • Conducting standardized point counts or transects
  • Comparing surveys across different days or seasons
  • Studying species detectability under varying conditions
  • Documenting environmental context for long-term monitoring

Even simple weather notes can significantly improve the interpretability of your field data.

Weather data provides essential context for understanding species detections and helps ensure that your inventories remain scientifically robust and comparable.