aSometimes things work out just fine if you leave them to the last minute; generally they do not. Today, however, was the former. I had my biggest ever NARRS reptile count - 87 common lizards and one slow-worm - in two hours walking round Redhill Common in Bournemouth, Dorset, at the very tail end of the season. Talk about leaving it late though...

The following was taken from the Buglife and Exmoor National Park Authority websites:

Buglife and Exmoor National Park Authority are appealing for sightings of White-clawed crayfish on Exmoor. The two organisations are working together on a new project to map the species on Exmoor. 

We're engaged in lots of non-marine mollusc work at the moment; some of it relating to professional projects; some of it simply in the name of voluntary biological recording. Winter is a time for compiling all those species records collected throughout the year, and sending them off to the relevant Local Records Centres (LRCs).

Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) has announced its intention to a carry out a survey of freshwater pearl mussels (Margaritifera margaritifera) across Scotland. It is currently seeking tenders from suitably-qualified contractors, to perform the survey in 2013 and 2014.

Buglife, the Invertebrate Conservation Trust, has reported that England's largest population of freshwater pearl mussels (Margaritifera margaritifera) has been devastated by lowered water levels.