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North Sutherland Wildlife Group

Resources & Species Identification

There are lots of ways to identify and find out about the species you have seen, and to learn about our amazing wildlife. We have some suggestions below:

Today, online resources are available for many species groups. There are photo guides, checklists, and keys to everything from footprints to flowers and pondlife to poo. These are produced by specialist societies, museums, and conservation organisations and often provide more information and pictures than are possible in books.

Printed guidebooks and field guides are still useful, of course. There is a huge range available. The ones mentioned below are used by members of the group but do look around to find what suits you best.

It’s always worth checking if the species you think you’ve seen has been recorded in North Sutherland. You can do this through the National Biodiversity Network Atlas for Scotland – search for a species name to get a map showing where it’s been seen before.

Don’t forget that we have a range of experts in North Sutherland Wildlife Group who can help too. Post on the Facebook group or contact us if you have a query.

Species Groups

Click to jump to a section

Mammals
Birds
Reptiles & Amphibians
Plants & Flowers
Invertebrates
Bees, Ants & Wasps etc.
Beetles
Moths & Butterflies (incl. Caterpillars)
Flies
Lichens
Fungi
Dragonflies & Damselflies
Molluscs
Other Resources

MAMMALS (Mammalia)

Online identification

  • Mammal Society List of British Mammals
  • Mammal Society: Whose Poo?
  • Woodland Trust: Woodland Mammals
  • Whale and Dolphin Conservation: Species Guide
  • Mammal Society
  • Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC)

Guidebooks

  • Britain’s Mammals A Field Guide to the Mammals of Great Britain and Ireland. (2021 Edition 1). D. Couzens, A. Swash, R. Still, J. Dunn.

BIRDS (Aves)

Online identification

  • RSPB Identify a Bird
  • RSPB Bird Song Identifier
  • British Trust for Ornithology: Bird Facts
  • British Trust for Ornithology: Bird Identification videos

Societies

  • RSPB
  • BTO

Guidebooks

  • Collins BTO Guide to British Birds (2015) P. Sterry, P. Stancliffe, S. Gillings

REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS

Online identification

  • Froglife: Amphibians and Reptiles Guide
  • ARC Trust: Amphibian Identification
  • ARC Trust: Reptile Identification

Societies

  • Amphibian and Reptile Conservation
  • Froglife

Guidebooks

  • Britain’s Reptiles and Amphibians A Guide to the Reptiles and Amphibians of Great Britain, Ireland and the Channel Islands (2011) H. Inns

PLANTS & FLOWERS

Online identification

  • Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland: Plant identification resources and guidance
  • Plantlife: Discover Wild Plants

Societies

  • Plantlife Scotland
  • Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland

Guidebooks

  • Collins Wild Flower Guide The Most Complete Guide to the Wild Flowers of Britain and Ireland. (2016) D. Streeter, C. Hart-Davies, A. Hardcastle, F. Cole, L.Harper
  • The Wild Flower Key How to identify wild flowers, trees and shrubs in Britain and Ireland. (2006) F. Rose, C. O’Reilly, M. Collings, D. Smith, R.B. Davis, L. Mason, N. Barber, J. Derrick
  • Wild Flowers of Britain and Ireland. (2013) M. Blamey, R. Fitter, A. Fitter

INVERTEBRATES

Online identification

  • BugLife: Bug Identification Tips and Videos
  • British Bugs

Societies

  • Buglife

BEES, ANTS & WASPS (Hymenoptera)

Online identification

  • BWARS: Beginners Bees Ants and Wasps
  • BWARS Identification Resources
  • Bumblebee Conservation ID Guide
  • British Social Wasps on Flickr
  • Beginner’s guide to identifying British ichneumonids (Natural History Museum)
  • The Sawflies of Britain and Ireland

Societies

  • Bumblebee Conservation
  • BWARS – Bess Ants and Wasps Recording Scheme

Guidebooks

  • Field Guide to Bees of Great Britain (2018) S. Falk, R. Lewington

BEETLES (Coleoptera)

Online identification

  • UK Beetle Identification Resources

Societies

  • UK Beetle Recording

Guidebooks

  • FSC Beetles AIDGAP Guide(1984) D. Unwin

MOTHS, BUTTERFLIES & CATERPILLARS (Lepidoptera)

Online identification

  • UK Moths Online guide
  • Butterfly Conservation: Identify at Butterfly
  • Butterfly Conservation East Scotland Branch: Butterflies
  • Butterfly Conservation East Scotland Branch: Moths by Month
  • Butterfly Conservation East Scotland Branch: Scottish Caterpillars
  • Butterfly Conservation Highland Branch: Butterfly List
  • NatureSpot: Caterpillars
  • Moth recording in west Sutherland

Societies

  • Butterfly Conservation
  • Butterfly Conservation East Scotland Branch
  • Butterfly Conservation Highland Branch

Guidebooks

  • Field Guide to the Moths of Great Britain and Ireland (2018) P. Waring, M. Townsend, R. Lewington
  • Field Guide to the Micro-Moths of Great Britain and Ireland (2012) P. Sterling, M. S. Parsons, R. Lewington
  • British & Irish Moths A Photographic Guide (2021) Edition 3. C. Manley
  • Britain’s Butterflies A Field Guide to the Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland (2020) D.E. Newland, R. Still, A. Swash, D. Tomlinson, J. Williams
  • Field Guide to the Caterpillars of Great Britain and Ireland (2020) B. Henwood, P. Sterling, R. Lewington

FLIES (Diptera)

Online identification

  • Draft key to British Blowflies (Calliphoridae) and Woodlouse Flies (Rhinophoridae) Steven Falk 2016
  • British Naturalists Association Guide to Hoverflies

Societies

  • The Dipterists Forum

Guidebooks

  • Britain’s Hoverflies A Field Guide (2015) S. Ball, R. Morris

LICHENS

Online identification

  • Naturespot Lichen Gallery
  • British Lichen Society: What is a Lichen?
  • British Lichen Society: UK Species
  • https://fungi.myspecies.info/content/list-lichens

Societies

  • British Lichen Society

Guidebooks


FUNGI

Online identification

  • tba

Societies

  • tba

Guidebook

  • tba

DRAGONFLIES & DAMSELFLIES (Odonata)

Online identification

  • British Dragonfly Society: Identification Help
  • NHBS online blog: Dragonfly identification
  • Identifying dragonflies in north Sutherland

Societies

  • British Dragonfly Society

Guidebooks

  • Britain’s Dragonflies A Field Guide to the Damselflies and Dragonflies of Britain and Ireland (2018) D. Smallshire, A. Swash

MOLLUSCS

Online identification

  • The Conchological Society: Identification of common British & Irish garden molluscs
  • Naturespot: Identifying Land Snails
  • Photographing slugs for identification

Societies

  • The Conchological Society of Great Britain and Ireland

Guidebooks

  • FSC Land Snails in the British Isles Identification Key AIDGAP Guide OP79 (2003) R. Cameron, G. Riley
  • FSC Guide to the Common Seashells of Britain and Ireland (2013) Field Studies Council Fold-out Guides Volume: 154 C. Shields

OTHER RESOURCES

Online Resources

  • SKULLSITE – Bird Skull Collection
  • Grid Reference Finder: To make your species records count, here’s a simple way to get an accurate location.
  • MarLIN: The Marine Life Information Network Species A-Z
  • Shark and Skate Citizen Science Scotland
  • NatureScot: Scotland’s Nature Agency (Scottish Government)
  • Natural History Book Service: Blogs, guides and articles. Some useful stuff here – species ID, survey techniques, equipment guides etc.
  • Highland Rangers: Activities
  • RSPB Forsinard Reserve Events

Societies

  • Highland Biological Recording Group
  • Assynt Field Club
  • Highland Environment Forum and Highland Biodiversity Action Plan 2021-2026
  • Curracag Outer Hebrides Natural History Society Facebook group
  • Scottish Wildlife Trust
  • Scottish Badgers

Guidebooks

  • Field Studies Council Wildlife fold-out guides: These are a really good starting point for learning about species and habitats, and they are easy to carry and use outside. There are a huge range of titles available.
  • RSPB Nature Tracker’s Handbook (2018) Nick Baker
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