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Monday 9am - 5pm Tuesday 9am - 5pm Wednesday 9am - 5pm Thursday 9am - 5pm Friday 9am - 5pm

NESBReC North East Scotland Biological Records Centre

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NESBReC North East Scotland Biological Records Centre

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NESBReC collates, manages and provides biological information for the North East of Scotland. [email protected]
http://www.nesbrec.org.uk/

Founded in 2000, NESBReC covers Aberdeenshire, Aberdeen City, Moray and since 2009 the Cairngorms Local Biodiversity Action Plan (LBAP) area. Currently over 1 million species records are held, as well as other biological datasets. We do this to support the North East Local Biodiversity Action Plan and the National Biodiversity Network
Please send us records of all plants and animals that you see and can confidently identify. Every record is important. While rare species may be more exciting to find, it is very important to record common species too. All records help to build up a more comprehensive understanding of the natural world in which we live, and can help ensure that decisions, which may affect habitat and species in the North East of Scotland, are made with the best available knowledge. We require four basic pieces of information for each record:
What - The name of the plant or animal. Common names or preferably the scientific name e.g. Sciurus vulgaris (Red Squirrel), so as to avoid confusion. Where - Gives a close indication of the location of the sighting. A 6-figure grid reference is preferable and also a name of the nearest location which is shown on an Ordnance Survey map. When - Date of the record, ideally written as dd/mm/yyyy. Who - Name of the recorder. If someone else helped you with identification or confirmed your record please send us their name too. Any more information that you collect will add to the value of your record e.g., habitat where you found it, numbers or abundance, male or female, stage of life cycle, its behaviour, or other plants it was growing with. If the data is confidential please let us know. Please send records in using our online form or by downloading our excel spreadsheet or casual wildlife recording form at http://www.nesbrec.org.uk/

23/10/2026

The Tayside Biodiversity Partnership has pulled together a bulletin with updates on various projects including in the Angus area.

22/10/2026

We've posted a couple of times about the distinctive dark-edged bee-fly. The Biological Recording Company are running a session looking at their changing phenology. https://tinyurl.com/Bee-fly-eventbrite

Many species of insect are changing the annual timing of their life stages in response to climate heating. Generally speaking, it is difficult to quantify these changes as we mostly lack sufficiently long, well-constrained records. However, citizen science observations potentially provide information that can be used if biases in the data can be managed appropriately. In this talk, Dr John Bloomfield from the University of Reading describes an analysis method that accounts for such biases, applies it to investigate the changing flight period of the Dark-edged bee-fly (Bombylius major) over the last 40 years in Britain, and shows how the changes relate to our warming climate.

There is a huge resource of talks and training available via the Biological Recording Company, including past recordings. It's well worth a look.

Dr John Bloomfield (University of Reading) shares new research about the impacts of climate change on Dark-edged Bee-flies' phenology.

17/10/2026

Keep an eye out for pear rust (Gymnosporangium sabinae) on pear leaves. There is only one historical record of this fungus in the NE but it is possibly under-recorded having recently been recorded in Forres. Leaves will be falling off the trees but if you have a pear and it still has it's leaves take a look and let us know if you have it. A photo of the gall would be most useful for identification. This species requires both pear and juniper to complete its life cycle. The telial stage of its life cycle occurs on juniper in April/May. https://nesbrec.org.uk/recording-services/online-form/

16/10/2026

With the fine weather this weekend keep your eyes peeled for insect activity on ivy. These photos from today in Aboyne demonstrate the importance of ivy as a late season source of pollen and nectar. Many flies, hoverflies and butterflies were taking up the opportunity, including this comma butterfly (Polygonia c-album). The comma has had a rapid spread north to become widely encountered in the NESBReC area. https://butterfly-conservation.org/news-and-blog/species-of-the-month-comma Don't forget to log your records https://nesbrec.org.uk/recording-services/online-form/

23/09/2026

This amazing (and large) Clifden Nonpareil was spotted in Dinnet this week. It has blue underwings which you can see peeking through in the photo. We only have 10 other records in our database including some from 1976 which was one of the exceptional years for this migrant moth. One was seen at Torry Battery last year. Keep an eye out for any more! The moth was fresh so perhaps they are starting to breed this far north. Thanks to Mary for the record and photo.

16/09/2026

Did you know that you can now upload a photograph when you submit a record on our website? Not every record needs a photo, but photos are often needed for verification and we are looking forward to seeing yours coming in :-)

To submit a record fill out the form below, we ask for your email address in case we need to... Read more »

01/09/2026

NESBReC is holding a FREE Bryophyte Identification Workshop in Alford on Tuesday the 6th of October from 10.00am-3.00pm.

Join Petra Vergunst of Scottish Lichens and NESBReC staff to learn more about the miniature world of mosses and liverworts in Haughton Country Park. This training event will help you learn to recognize some of the common woodland and urban moss and liverwort species of NE Scotland. We will look at the way they have adapted to their environment, and we will discuss ways to record these species groups.

Booking is essential and is via Eventbrite

This FREE workshop will introduce you to the woodland and urban mosses and liverworts you may expect to find in the north east of Scotland.

01/09/2026

Bookings are now open for the Tayside Recorders Forum on the 3rd October in Montrose.

Join fellow nature enthusiasts at the 18th Tayside Recorders' Day. This full-day event welcomes all with an interest in wildlife recording.

28/08/2026

The Big Picture Conference, on 19 September in Perth, brings together a diverse community of people united by a shared commitment to nature recovery. An exciting lineup of speakers will explore two key themes: 'Rewilding with people and place' and 'Coexistence in rewilded landscapes'. To close the day, panellists will tackle one of the sector's most topical questions: 'Does rewilding have a wildfire problem?' Book your place for an informative and inspiring day of presentations, learning opportunities and discussion.

https://www.scotlandbigpicture.com/conference

Learn more about Scotland's rewilding event, returning to Perth Concert Hall on 19 September 2026, and discover conference sponsorship opportunities.

26/08/2026

We're proud to be part of Climate Week North East 2026!

This September, we're joining organisations, communities and individuals across the North East Scotland for the region's biggest climate event Climate Week North East, running Saturday 19 September to Sunday 4 October 2026.

As part of it, we're hosting a FREE Fungi ID Training Event

When: Wednesday 23rd September 2026
10:30 am to 3:00 pm
Where: House of Dun, Montrose, Angus

Booking is essential and is via Eventbrite: https://NESBReC-fungi-identification-house-of-dun.eventbrite.co.uk

Our FREE event will help you understand more about the range of species to be found and give you an introduction to their identification

Address

Aberdeen
AB165GB

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm

Telephone

+441467537221

Website

http://nesbrec.org.uk/

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