Some photos of the local landscape, animals and birds (and the occasional man-made visitor) seen from the Fanellan and Hughton area:
If you are interested in local wildlife and a bit of "citizen science" then here are a few links to websites and apps for your phone/tablet to share your sightings and find out what others have seen:
by Cornell Lab - an app for real time bird song recognition and recording together with a searchable ID database.
Tip: It is a global database but you only need to download the "Europe: Britain and Ireland" file.
by British Trust for Ornithology - this app allows you to quickly record and upload bird and mammal observations from a pick list by location to the national BTO database and what other people have seen in your area.
Tip: Any mammal data added via the BTO also shows as an "Anonymous" record on the BRC/iRecord database (see below).
by Biological Records Centre (BRC) in association with the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) - this app allows you to use your camera/photos to recognise and record all types of wildlife (inc. bird, mammal, insect, tree and plant). Observations/sightings are sent to the BRC database.
Tip: Using the photo recognition in the app helps with the acceptance your data.
by Biological Records Centre (BRC) - same as the app above but sightings can be uploaded via a webpage.
by Saving Scotland's Red Squirrels - this is a national webpage that allows you to record any squirrel sightings and search their database for the current and previous years. This data is shared to the NBN Atlas see link below.
Tip: The map is slow to load - zoom right in to get it loading and then zoom out again.
by The Mammal Society - this app is similar to iRecord but for mammals only by uploaded by location or during a walk/ride/survey. Data is shared to BRC and to NBN Atlas.
Although the above apps show your your records and some other sightings the collated data can be found in one place:
by National Biodiversity Network Trust - gathers biodiversity data from other sources (like BTO, BRC (iRecord and Mammal Mapper apps) and Red Squirrel Sightings above) and other partners and combines it into a UK national searchable database/map and gives you a real profile of the wildlife of the area over time.
Note: The BTO general data currently only runs to 31st December 2023.
There are many other online resources and apps - find your favourite and keep it on your phone when you are out and about.
Some more information about observing on the Scottish Wildlife Trust website.