THE hunt is on for nature enthusiasts to join in a butterfly survey in Kilwinning.

The butterfly nature survey will be held across various locations in Eglinton Country Park on July 10th between 10am and 12pm.

The session will allow people to discover how the park's countryside rangers run their butterfly transect wildlife survey as well as develop skills to set up their own transect at a greenspace in their local area.

The survey is fairly simple and is suitable for those over the age of 12 however under 18s must be accompanied by an adult.

Countryside ranger Graeme Walla said: “The information gained from the upcoming survey is vital for us to plan and implement appropriately the conservation actions required to do what is best for Scotland’s butterflies.

“Not only will the wildlife survey session help the team to understand the current presence of butterflies or moths, locally, it is also an important opportunity for us to gain a better understanding of the behaviours, habitats, and ecology of species, so that we can do all that we can to protect them.

“This is also a great way of participating in local citizen science projects alongside our rangers."

(Image: North Ayrshire Council)

Rhonda Leith, head of service for connected communities at North Ayrshire Council, added: “Our countryside rangers play a pivotal role in ensuring we have the correct conservation planning in place to protect local biodiversity and prevent nature loss.

“If you have some free time this summer, why not consider volunteering some time with them or our many groups across Eglinton Country Park?

“Although our rangers do recordings weekly, the upcoming session is to give volunteers a flavour of what it is like to run a transect-based survey.”

Rhonda added that this is a great opportunity to allow people to leant about data collection, and where it goes once it has been gathered.

She says she hopes it encourages and empowers participants to adopt their own spots to do local butterfly surveys.

The 10th of July butterfly-spotting session is the first in a series of ‘Have-a-Go’ nature surveys taking place this summer.

Further surveys, including bats and wetland birds, are to follow later in July and early August.

The session is free to attend however booking is requires and spaces are limited. You can book online via the HAC Ticket Source website at thehac.co.uk/events.