LADYBIRDS are the focus of The Scotsman's spring Wildlife Watch, kicking off on Friday.
Readers are being asked to go out to their gardens and the countryside and tell us about the wildlife they see.
All the records collected during our spring nature survey, which is supported by the Scottish Wildlife Trust, will be passed on to Biol
ogical Recording in Scotland (Brisc).
Photographs and notes taken by readers will then be distributed among Brisc's network of local record centres and biological recorders.
A selection of readers' pictures will appear in The Scotsman next week and online at Scotsman.com. Records should include the name of the species; the date and place you saw it, preferably with a postcode or six-figure grid reference; and your name and contact details.
Either take photographs or make notes and email them to online@scotsman.com or post to: Wildlife Watch, The Scotsman, 108 Holyrood Road, Edinburgh EH8 8AS. As well as ladybirds, we want to hear about any other species you spot, from birds and mammals through to plants flowering unexpectedly.
Other species readers may spot include migrating birds – such as swallows, swifts and sand martins – that may be arriving.
Wading birds will be moving inland to breed after spending the winter on our coasts.
This weekend could be a bit early for butterflies, but if the weather is right you could see red admiral, small tortoiseshell, peacock and possibly green veined white.
Your records will add to data about Scotland's wildlife and how it is adapting to our changing climate.
