About Earthynature of Britain

Nature of Britain

Earthy: Britain’s wildlife, month by month

Seventeen thousand species, the months they peak and the counties where they are recorded — from open records since 2000.

17,073 species 125 counties

The wildlife calendar

Species grouped by the month in which they are recorded most often.

1January 391 species at their peak Black-headed Gull, Great Cormorant/European Shag, Long-tailed Tit 2February 222 species at their peak Atlantic herring, Herring, Grey Gurnard, Norway Pout 3March 568 species at their peak Poor cod, Norway lobster, Common Feather-moss 4April 1,167 species at their peak Common Wood-Pigeon, Carrion Crow, European Robin 5May 2,538 species at their peak Eurasian Blackbird, Western Jackdaw, European Starling 6June 3,222 species at their peak Common Swift, Small Heath, Common Blue Damselfly 7July 3,217 species at their peak Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Green-veined White 8August 2,267 species at their peak Lesser Black-backed Gull, Speckled Wood, Small White 9September 1,535 species at their peak Dunlin, European plaice, Plaice, Eurasian red squirrel 10October 1,491 species at their peak Eurasian Kestrel, Meadow Pipit, Goldcrest 11November 311 species at their peak Smallspotted catshark, Small-spotted catshark, Lesser Spotted Dogfish, Spiny dogfish, European hake 12December 105 species at their peak Lesser sand-eel, Raitt's Sandeel, Gymnometriocnemus brumalis, Salmonella enterica

Most recorded species

Common Wood-Pigeon

Group: Birds
Peak month: April
Records since 2000: 1,731,616

Carrion Crow

Group: Birds
Peak month: April
Records since 2000: 1,495,275

European Robin

Group: Birds
Peak month: April
Records since 2000: 1,461,364

Eurasian Blackbird

Group: Birds
Peak month: May
Records since 2000: 1,414,772

Meadow Brown

Group: Butterflies and moths
Peak month: July
Records since 2000: 1,291,987

Eurasian Blue Tit

Group: Birds
Peak month: April
Records since 2000: 1,283,149

Eurasian Magpie

Group: Birds
Peak month: April
Records since 2000: 1,277,801

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Group: Birds
Peak month: August
Records since 2000: 1,165,954

Western Jackdaw

Group: Birds
Peak month: May
Records since 2000: 1,084,740

Counties with the most records

Cambridgeshire3,816,769
Norfolk3,192,087
Suffolk2,433,244
Kent2,275,011
Oxfordshire2,016,607
Surrey1,972,689
Dorset1,770,257
Highland1,707,321
Cornwall1,461,883
East Riding of Yorkshire1,432,678
Essex1,415,071
Devon1,355,828

Designations

The 100 most recorded species in Britain Most recorded birds in Britain Most recorded mammals in Britain Most recorded butterflies and moths Most recorded flowering plants Most recorded fungi and lichens Most recorded beetles Counties with the most species recorded

Year described

When the species recorded in Britain were first described by science.