Staffordshire Ecological Records (SER) and Staffordshire Wildlife Trust have thanked people across the county who rallied to record wildlife sightings for the 2024 City Nature Challenge.

9,968 observations were made during the challenge’s four days (Friday 26 April to Monday 29 April). This was the second time Staffordshire has taken part in the annual competition, where people all over the world compete to see how many wild species can be seen.

155 people took part in Staffordshire, recording 1,212 different species, including cream spot ladybird, as well as pied shield bug, silver-green leaf weevil, and peregrine falcon.

The county placed third out of the 24 UK places that took part, and 62^nd out of the 690 places worldwide that took part.

Rory Middleton, Ecological Data Manager for SER, said: “Thank you to everyone who took part in this fun nature counting challenge. We’ve more than doubled our record of observations from last year, and hope to see even more people participating in 2025.”

“Even though the challenge is over, we always need nature records to help us better understand where wildlife is thriving, and where numbers are lacking. This data is essential in our work to protect nature.

“We’d encourage people to continue counting – simply download the free iNaturalist app to your phone or tablet, or use the iNaturalist website to record sightings. Or you can report sightings directly to SER on our website:  www.staffs-ecology.org.uk.”