Recording activity in 2026 has continued in a strong fashion, currently only slightly behind that of 2025. However, one milestone event that generally happens each July continued its trend in 2026, as the 100,000th record was submitted through Ireland’s Citizen Science Portal.
What’s always nice to see when I’m checking our system to see what species the 100,000th record is, is who submitted it, and most often these records have been submitted by our champion recorders. Our annual champion recorders are those that have submitted over either 500 or 1000 records during that year, which is an incredible recording activity. So I was once again delighted this year to see a familiar name had submitted the 100,000th records and it was for a common and widespread, but very beautiful native wildflower Selfheal (Prunella vulgaris). This record was submitted on the 13/07/2026 from Belcarra Co. Mayo by Ger Nee.
We got in touch with Ger to find our more about this milestone record and why she records.
What a lovely surprise to get an email from Oisín to say that my recent record of Selfheal was the 100,000th record for 2026!
The location where I recorded this is the site around our house in Belcarra Co Mayo. We moved here 3 years ago and were delighted to find that the site itself had been left largely to nature and bounded by native hedgerow. Since then, we’ve been slowly trying to enhance what’s already there by planting native trees, creating a pond and adopting a low-mow (and in many places, no-mow!) approach. Rather than trying to make the garden look perfectly tidy, we’ve been happy to let nature have a bit more of a say. It has been hugely enjoyable and rewarding to monitor both the flora and fauna appearing in our garden as a result.
This year we have been trying to work with what is already in the seedbank in the garden and encouraging this along – and were rewarded with over 60 Common Spotted Orchids as one example! The appearance of large patches of one of my favourite flowers, Selfheal, was also warmly welcomed by us – not only is it a beautiful flower when viewed up close, it’s also a fantastic plant for pollinators.
Over the past few years, I’ve really enjoyed photographing, identifying and recording biodiversity. It’s been a gradual learning journey, and one that’s opened my eyes to just how much incredible wildlife is right under our feet and all around us. Along the way it’s taken me to some beautiful places across the country in search of different species, so I would never have guessed that my milestone record would turn out to be a little purple flower growing just a few steps from my own front door! Although it’s also somehow very fitting, as I do believe that getting to know your own patch is a really great way to start a recording journey! It’s also a nice reminder that every record counts. Whether it’s something rare or something you see every day, it all adds to our understanding of Ireland’s biodiversity. And who knows? The next milestone record could be waiting just outside your own back door.
Surveys and Records Officer Oisín Duffy had this to say about the 100,000th record:
With the level of data that’s received each year and the fact that we reach this milestone every July, it can be easy to think of this as a normal event, but this rate of recording activity is incredible and takes so much sustained effort, time and expertise from our recording network, so a massive thank you to all of our recorder network. As Ger mentioned above regardless of whether your record is common or rare, it’s worth submitting through Ireland’s Citizen Science Portal.
Ireland’s Citizen Science portal is available to be used by anyone; if you see a species of note and are sure of its identification, please submit the details to https://records.biodiversityireland.ie/ so that the observation can be added to our national biodiversity database. This will allow us to continue to build the knowledge base on what species we have in Ireland and help us to better understand how they are distributed.
