Ongoing Surveys
All of SBRC's surveys are ongoing so please continue to send us your records for ALL species, particularly those mentioned on this page. For more information on these and other surveys which you can get involved in, check out our leaflets.
Click on the links to see some of the information you've helped us to gather so far.
Threatened Plants Project (BSBI)
Now in its third year, the Threatened Plants Project (TPP) is run by the Botanical Society of the British Isles (BSBI). Through this 5 year initiative BSBI aims to learn more about ‘threatened’ species covered by the British Red List.
Each year, a number of species are surveyed throughout the country. So far, only 4 species on the TPP list occur in Shetland or are known to have occurred here in the recent past. We would appreciate your records of all of these species to allow us to contribute to this important national survey. As always, records should include a 6 or 8 figure grid reference and, particularly for records of Heath Cudweed and Corn Marigold, a photograph.
For more information visit the BSBI website.
From left to right:
Field Gentian (Gentianella campestris) - This species has a fairly restricted distribution in Shetland. It usually favours dry, often stony pastures.
Frog Orchid (Coeloglossum viride) - The Frog Orchid is quite localised in Shetland and can be a difficult plant to spot as it grows close to the ground here. It is normally found on coastal grassland.
Heath Cudweed (Gnaphalium sylvaticum) - There is only one recent record of this species in Shetland from 2006.
Corn Marigold (Chrysanthemum segetum) – The only two records of Corn Marigold in the last decade were from Skerries and Exnaboe.
Shetland Breeding Bird Survey (SBRC)
In 2002, the Shetland Biological Records Centre, in conjunction with the Shetland Bird Club, launched a Breeding Bird Survey (BBS). The primary objective of this survey is to enable us to assess the population trends of our commoner breeding song birds and waders. 36 people participated in its first year covering a total of 49 1km squares compared to 55 observers and 85 squares covered in 2009. 
To complete a survey square requires just two morning visits each of about an hour. Observers select their own squares so please, if you feel you can contribute then contact SBRC. Results from the 2008 survey can be seen here.
Butterflies (SBRC)
Only one species of butterfly, the Large White, actually breeds in Shetland but several others are rare or regular visitors in Summer. We would like your records of ALL butterfly species. These can tell us about major immigration events such as that of the Painted Lady in 2009 and may also give us an indication of how some species are responding to climate change. Insects are often one of the first indicators of such change and many species have moved rapidly north to colonise new areas of Britain in recent years, while others that previously occurred only on the continent have now colonised Britain. Shetland has an important role to play in this context. Download our butterfly leaflet to help you identify the species you might see. 
Land Mammals (SBRC)
All of Shetland’s land mammals have been introduced and a few are potentially damaging to other wildlife and the environment, particularly to ground-nesting birds. At present we do not have an accurate picture of the distribution of many of Shetland’s land mammals so we need your help. Although we would encourage you to send us all land mammal records, we are most interested in records of polecats away from Mainland, and all records of stoat and hedgehog. Click here to see a map of the records we have so far. Download our Land Mammals leaflet for a brief description of each species. 
Frogwatch (SBRC)
Soon after SBRC was founded back in 1998 we launched a Shetland-wide frog survey which was widely contributed to by members of the public. Click here to see a map of Common Frog records from Shetland.
As you can see from the map, although frogs are widespread across Shetland there are still large areas where there have been no reports. We still welcome all records of frogs or frogspawn, especially from areas where they are yet to be recorded.
Bird Atlas
This project is now over halfway through. Fieldwork for the third breeding season began on April 1st 2010.
To find out how you can help, visit the Bird Atlas website or contact Dave Okill.
It is hoped that we can get enough data to produce a local Atlas. Lots more maps, including tetrad distribution for some species which give an idea of what a local Atlas would look like, can be seen here.