Nature's Calendar

Scotland's landscapes, habitats and species change throughout the year.

Spring is traditionally seen as a time of renewal, of new growth or re-awakening, growing to full bloom through the summer. Even though many things are slowing down again in the autumn ready to turn in and just tick over during the winter, this doesn't mean that everything stops altogether.  Through the winter there can be a lot of activity in the leaf litter cast off in the autumn, and in the soil below. A range of species only visit us in the winter time, such as the majority of the geese we see between October and April.

What's about and when?

At different times of the year different things are happening in the life cycles of our wildlife. This means that certain times of year are better for seeing and surveying species, for example great crested newts hibernate between December and March so there is little point in surveying for them during that time.

At different times of year some species are more sensitive to disturbance, for example when they are rearing young.

Our Nature's Calendar   shows the best times to survey for certain species and the times which are most sensitive during their annual life cycles.