Help With Grid References – Plus Some Alternatives
For squirrel purposes, OS grid references can be either 6 figures (eg SD 406 986) or 10 figures (eg SD 40890 98882). Every British grid reference has a 2-letter prefix to locate it within a specific 100 kilometre square. In our WRS area, the prefix will be either SD or NY.
To Find a Grid Reference Online
UK Grid Reference Finder>> enables you to find a grid reference by using your cursor to pinpoint the location of your sighting on a map, and then right-clicking to produce a pin marking the spot you’ve selected. Left-clicking on the pin will then show its grid reference in a tag. Just copy your grid reference from the tag and paste it into your sighting report or record. The satellite view is easier to work with once you’ve zoomed in to the general area of your sighting.
We have had a report that UKGRFinder may not work when using the Firefox browser – Chrome is a suggested alternative.
To Find a Grid Reference From a Map
If you prefer to use a paper map to find your grid reference but need a reminder about how to do it, the Ordnance Survey provides a guide to the National Grid>>
Latitude and Longitude
Latitude and Longitude co-ordinates are an acceptable alternative to OS grid references, for example: 54.431214 , -3.0076189. These coordinates are compatible with Google maps, and are preferably sent to us in decimal format as shown, rather than as degrees, minutes, seconds.
Other Location Identifiers
Recently, other ways of describing a precise location have come into use, with what3words>> being one of the better known. Please use one of these methods if that makes it easier for you to report accurately the location of the squirrel you saw. Please also include a brief description of the method used in the further information section.