Fife Nature Records Centre
Recording wildlife
Help improve our understanding of Fife’s wildlife by recording and sharing your sightings. Every record helps build a picture of where species live and how habitats are changing over time.
Wildlife recording means taking note of the wildlife you encounter in everyday life, from birds visiting your garden to plants growing in local woodlands.
Why record wildlife
Wildlife records help us:
- understand the distribution of species and habitats
- identify rare or protected species
- monitor changes in wildlife populations
- build a better picture of Fife’s biodiversity
- support conservation work
- inform planning decisions
Anyone can contribute, whether you spot wildlife in your garden, local park or countryside.
All records are important, including sightings of common species. Every record helps improve understanding of wildlife distribution and habitats across Fife.
How to record wildlife
When recording wildlife, we need to know:
- what you saw
- when you saw it
- where you saw it, ideally with a grid reference
- who saw it
To find a grid reference, you can use:
Learning how to identify species is an important part of wildlife recording and helps make wildlife records as useful as possible. Tools and apps that suggest species can be a good starting point, but they are not always correct. Use field guides, identification resources or expert advice to help you confirm what you have seen.
If possible, include additional information such as:
- the number seen
- behaviour
- habitat
- photographs
- whether the animal you saw was male or female
- whether it was a juvenile or an adult
- if a plant you saw was flowering
Even records of dead animals are useful in understanding species distribution and dispersal.
Submitting records
The quickest and easiest way to record your findings is to use iRecord. This online recording option allows you to upload photographs to support your sightings which can assist in species verification. There is also a mobile app.
All records are accessible to Fife Nature Records Centre. You do not need to be registered or log in to submit records to iRecord.
If you are already using another online recording platform, let us know and we can check whether records submitted through it can be shared with Fife Nature Records Centre.
Email us your findings
If you would prefer to submit your records directly to us, use our Wildlife recording spreadsheet (excel).This ensures that records are provided in a standard format and includes all the information needed to process your sightings.
Send your completed spreadsheet and any photographs of your wildlife sightings to nature.info@fife.gov.uk, along with a completed data use agreement form. This helps us use your records correctly.
Other ways to record
While iRecord and spreadsheets are our preferred formats, we can also accept records in other formats, provided the key information is included (what you saw, where you saw it, when you saw it and who saw it). If you are unsure, contact us for advice.
You can use a recording template to write down sightings when you are out and about. Once completed, you can enter records directly into iRecord or a spreadsheet and email to us.
Printable wildlife recording form
More information about how we use your data can be found on our Privacy Notice.
