Surveys & New Records

The success of Outer Hebrides Biological Recording depends on recorders submitting their records, so whether you work alone or take part in organised surveys we would like to receive your records.

Many of the national wildlife surveys are suitable for beginners and are a good way to get started. Large scale countrywide surveys provide an overall picture of animal and plant distribution and can be used monitoring changes but locally organised surveys also have an important role to play in our understanding of biodiversity. The Bumblebee Survey is an example of a local scheme that counts the number of Bumblebees on various sites throughout the summer. It is an excellent example of a local initiative that monitors species which are important part of the machair habitat and two species, the Great Yellow Bumblebee (Bombus distinguendus) and the Moss Carder Bee (Bombus muscorum), which are rare in other parts of Britain.

If you do not have time to get involved in organised surveys, you can still make an important contribution by sending us the records of wildlife that you see from time to time, in our garden or when out for a walk. You can even turn nature detective and have a look for some of our target species.