Recording wildlife sightings creates a picture of animal and plant communities in the isles – it helps identify population trends and informs conservation decisions. There are gaps in what we know about many species in the North Isles, including some familiar plants and animals as well as those that are rare or endangered.
Between 2020 and 2024 the North Isles Landscape Partnership Scheme held over 50 events and activities to highlight the rich and diverse wildlife in the North Isles and to encourage people to send records of the species they see to local and national databases.
Getting started
You can send your wildlife sightings to one of Orkney's County Recorders, or through a national database like i-record.
Watch the video below to see Orkney naturalist Tim Dean, explore his local patch in Kirkwall during the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020 and discuss why making a record of wildlife can be useful now and in years to come.
You can record wildlife anywhere – your back garden, on a daily walk or any location that you visit. Each time you visit a site there is a chance to spot something new. In the video below, Tim looks at what you might find in a sand dune – in this case, at Churchill Barrier No.4.
What information do I need to send?
- Your name
- The name of the plant or animal that you recorded.
- Location – preferably a grid reference, or a place name as close to the sighting as possible.
- The date of the record.
Where do I send my records?
You can send individual wildlife records or a batch of records collected over a period of time. Send them directly to one of Orkney's County Recorders for the different species groups. Their details can be found on the Orkney Field Club website here.
You can also upload your records to a national database like i-record.
Target species and special projects
Click on the images below to find out more about some of the species and groups that were part of the NILPs project.
