The partnership between the MKP and NaturalWorld was announced on 25 July 2006. The aims of this partnership is to provide the web-based facility to record all Lesser Kestrel, Amur Falcon and Redfooted Falcon sightings on a map to collect this information in a database. From this data, it is hoped that we can find out the following information:
To use this facility effectively, I have provided below a step by step guide on what you need to do as a user to enter your sightings in the NaturalWorld web site to include the information in their database. NOTE: You can click on the screen shots to get a bigger clear image of the web site.
The five basic steps are:
1. Register on the Natural World web site
Go to the NaturalWorld web site (www.natworld.org). The home page provides detail on the NaturalWorld Project. This includes information about the various bird species and a photographic section.
To register, select Register from the menu across the top of the page. Fill in your details and then hit the Register button. There are various user levels which provide different levels of map data and functionality. For this project, you only need to register with Bronze level status which is free. However, if you would like to support NaturalWorld and receive data rich maps, you are most welcome to select a higher level. Bronze level allows the entering of sightings of migrating kestrels, as well as displaying maps with sightings.
2. Enter the map web page
Once you have registered, each time you go to the NaturalWorld web page, you can log in using your user name and password. The Home page now changes allowing you access to the Interactive Species Database.
If you click on the link, Interactive Species Database, it takes you to the Open South African Database screen, which provides information on the rules of the database. For instance, you should only enter records that you have personally seen. There are some fun analysis links down the right hand side that you could try. If you have recently added data, you will most probably see your name in the analysis of Recent Recordings.
If you click on the Open South African Database link, it launches a new browser window, which has the map. This is where we can view distribution data, or add our own.
3. Select the species you saw
To view information on a species, or add your own sighting, you first need to select the species that you require. This is a two step process, with the first to select the group of birds that you are looking for. In our case, we select Falcon, Hobby, Kestrels from the drop down box opposite the Family text input.
Next, select the species to view or record your sighting.
After selecting the species, if you Click on the Display button, you will get a map with all the sightings for that species. The yellow grids are the normal distribution of the bird, making it very easy to see if you have a sighting that is out of range.
4. Zoom in to the location where you saw the species
Sightings can only be added to the map when the scale of the map is 1:60 000 or finer (the scale can be seen at the bottom left side of the map). This is because you will require some detail to be able to place exactly where you say the bird. To zoom in, you select the 
button at the top edge of the map. Then draw a small box on the area where you saw the kestrel by clicking the left mouse button and holding it while you move the mouse to draw a rectangle. When done, release the mouse button. You may have to hit the Display button again.
5. Add the sighting with information
Now that you have zoomed to the correct area, you can now add you sighting. [Note that detail on the map may differ from what you see as it depends on the User Level - in these pictures, the detail is that provided to Gold level users.] To add your sighing, select the 
button at the top edge of the map. A message box says you can now add a point (click Ok to close this message) and then click on the map where you saw the kestrel.
Now you have added the locality, but you need to add additional information in the space provided on the left. Some of the input has help such as drop down boxes, or in the case of the date, a calendar. Other details are also important in this project such as the time you saw the kestrels, and the number you saw together. You are welcome to add any additional information in the comments section. If you took a photo, you can add that too!
After you have entered the details, hit the Submit button to save your record. Congratulations, you sighting record has now been saved to the official Migrating Kestrel Project database for sightings. This record also gets emailed to Anthony van Zyl, co-ordinator of the project for review and he will follow up on any interesting sightings.
This completes the procedure to register, log in and view and submit sightings for a migrating kestrel. Of course, you can now do this for any birds that you see, but please make a special effort to record all sightings of Lesser Kestrels, Amur Falcons and Redfooted Falcons.