What's in store for 2015?

2014 has a been a really fun year nature recording wise. Having had a bit of a break for a few years while bringing up small kids and renovating houses, it's been nice to get back into observing and recording, and especially to learn new things.

Gold Spot Plusia festucae

I ended 2013 by joining iRecord and vowing to upload my sightings and have been true to my word throughout the year, with the exception of most bird records. Weirdly I now find I lack the motivation to keep an up to date notebook for birds.

I've run the moth trap throughout the year and this has set me a target to beat for 2015, species wise.
I also went on a Carabid beetle course run by Brian Eversham which opened up my eyes to a whole new world and have since been dipping my toes into the joys of beetles. I recorded a paltry 43 species during the later half of the year but this area is my main aim for 2015. I'm not sure about setting an actual target but I'll be happy if I see 100 new beetle species during the year.

Nicrophorus investigator

One of the (many) areas that I lack a good knowledge in is vascular plants. My other New Year's resolution is to familiarise myself with more plant species, especially those around my local area of South Cambridgeshire.

So, looking through my 2014 records I've recorded 374 species in total, the vast majority being moths. Not a huge amount and there are a lot of birds, plants and mammals that I haven't added.

Given this, my 2015 aim to see 1000 species in the UK over the course of the year. Hopefully this is an achievable goal, fitted in around family and work commitments.