Get ready to go wild for the wildlife on your doorstep!

Get ready to go wild for the wildlife on your doorstep!

Our annual ‘wildlife census’ is back! Join us on the from 12 noon on the 15th June to 12 noon on the 16th of June, for our fifth Great Yorkshire Creature Count. Take part on either day, and spend just 30 minutes spotting, counting, and recording the wildlife you see.

Whether that be in your garden, back yard, a scrubby green patch of grass or one of our nature reserves, they could all make a big difference! It’s fun and easy to do, everyone can take part and we’ll give you everything you need!

Doorstep Safari!

From butterflies to beetles and frogs to finches, how many can you spot over the weekend? Better yet, team up with (or compete against!) your neighbours or friends to see just how many you can find.

Pull up a garden chair to listen for the screech of a swift overhead, or peer closely among the shrubs and pots in search of a marmalade hoverfly or red soldier beetle. Children will love hunting for worms, ladybirds, woodlice and snails!

Do tell us what else you see – and fear not, if you come across a creature that you can’t identify, our team of experts will be on hand on email, Twitter (X) and Instagram to help!

Upload your Great Yorkshire Creature Count results

How do I take part?

 

  1.  Sign up here and receive your downloadable checklist, tips and advice. 

  2.  On the weekend, head outside to search for and record creatures on the checklist.

  3.  Submit your sightings on our website using our online form.

Delve deeper

Download the Seek app to add a new dimension to your count. Simply upload a photo of the creature you want to identify, and it will tell you what you’re looking at!

For experts or intrepid explorers wanting to delve that little bit deeper and record extra species, a project group has been set up on the iNaturalist app to download and submit more findings. You’ll be joining a community of other wildlife enthusiasts recording valuable data right across Yorkshire.

spot count record gycc
“In the face of huge wildlife declines in the UK, one of the most important things every single person can do is count what wildlife is on their patch. Working together, this helps build up a record that can be compared to past and future counts to see how populations change, and where can do more to help them - and it’s a lot of fun seeing what wildlife get up to!”

Jack Wallington
Wildlife Gardener and Author
Azure damselfly resting on a leaf. It is a close up macro shot.

Azure damselfly (c) Simon Tull 

Sign up for the Great Yorkshire Creature Count

Creature counting across Yorkshire returns for a fifth year!

Let's get more gardens, and communities taking part than ever before so together we can take action for wildlife on our doorstep. 

Sign up today