Derbyshire Biological Records Centre

The Derbyshire Wildlife Trust hosts the Derbyshire Biological Records Centre, which collates and combines data on all species within Derbyshire, including protected species, species of conservation importance, designated and non-designated sites and priority habitat types. Working closely with County Recorders, local natural history groups, charities and individuals to collect new records on an annual basis.  

DBRC datasets are continually updated throughout the year, currently the Records Centre holds over 3.26 million records and receives around 25,000 records per annum! 

You can submit your sightings through the Online Recording System (ORS). Follow the link below to get started. The ORS is ideal for anyone who records wildlife, you can either sign up and get loads of great features, including storage of your own records within the ORS where you can access them at any time.If you do not wish to create an account you can use the guest account, which doesn't require you to sign up.

ORS Submit a Sighting

Or you can always email us at speciesrecords@derbyshirewt.co.ukIf you do email us to share your sighting, we'd really like it you could supply following important pieces of information please.

1. Your name

2. What you saw, with a description if you're unsure or saw something unusual

3. Where you were, a grid reference/What3Words. Location address, the name of the nearest village/town, a postcode

4. The date you saw it.

These four pieces of information are vital if we are to log your sighting. The more information you can give us about what you saw the better. 

Not a Recent Sightings report this time but an example of how your sightings count. The State of Nature report is a crucial tool for understanding the health and diversity of wildlife across Derbyshire. It provides a comprehensive overview of how different species are faring, highlights trends over time, and identifies areas where conservation efforts are needed most. This information helps policymakers, conservationists, and the public make informed decisions to protect and restore natural habitats and species.

Everyone’s sightings play a vital role in this process. When you submit your wildlife sighting—such as birds, mammals, insects, or plant—you contribute valuable data points that build a detailed picture of local biodiversity. Your sightings can help detect changes in species populations, track the spread of invasive species, and identify new or rare species sightings that might otherwise go unnoticed.

This is why submitting your wildlife sightings to the DBRC is so important. Your contributions help create a more accurate and comprehensive dataset, enabling better analysis and more effective conservation strategies. By sharing your observations, you become an active participant in safeguarding our natural environment and ensuring that the State of Nature report reflects the true richness and challenges of our wildlife.Please do take the opportunity to read Derbyshire's State of Nature Report and continue to support our wildlife. Follow the link below to access the report. 

State of Nature Report 

To help target your recording please see our Gap in the Map

Gap in the Map shows a map of Derbyshire, with a scale of shaded blue 1km OS grid squares, the darker the colour the more species records we hold for that grid square, the lighter the colour the fewer species records. The white grid squares means very few/no species records. Note: we could have records in squares that are white but they maybe at a resolution of less than 4 figures i.e. 10km resolution.

The aim of the map is to encourage you to target your species recording in squares where we have fewer records, although you can record in any square. The more we record the better. If you don’t count it, it won’t count.

Please remember to record safely and legally, and check if you have right of access/landowner permissions.

In order for us to continue to supply you with the best quality data and service that we can, we're in a partnership with North Wales Environmental Information Service (Cofnod). We use a cloud-based platform to enhance your experience of how you access, view, and use our data. The platform is called My LERC.

We are part of My LERC Online which will allow you to request your data from a specific website which is also supporting 8 other LERCs, so we're part of a merry band.

You can now find us here:

My LERC Online

Just follow the simple onscreen instructions on the website and you’ll receive your data faster than ever before and be able interact with it through the online platform.

We’re still here though, behind the screen so if you’ve any queries or need help, please drop us a line at dataenquiries@derbyshirewt.co.uk

Thank you for your continued support, Derbyshire’s wildlife appreciates it.

To download the Local Wildlife Sites Handbook click the link below: 

Guidelines for the Selection of Local Wildlife Sites