It may be a good time of year to huddle round the fire and watch 'Winterwatch' on BBC2, but some of our intrepid photographers have been out and about capturing local nature on camera.
Jack Boyle managed to get this particularly good picture of a group of turnstone looking for some peace and quiet on the far side of Cumbrae, while another regular contributor in George Crawford spotted an early ladybird on Saturday 22 January.
He said: "This is the first ladybird that I've seen this year, both of us taking advantage of the unexpected sunshine for an afternoon scamper around West Kilbride on Friday. Well, in my case more of a casual saunter."
You can see other pictures of oystercatcher and the bird of the moment - the common seagull - on the Largs News Facebook page.
And photographers were at the ready last weekend to take pictures for the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch going on around the country.
According to the RSPB, bird populations are a great indicator of health on our countryside, and last weekend's birdwatch helped the society to document the bird population up and down the country. But not including ladybirds obviously!