A 12-year-old newt surveyor from Wester Ross has been asked to present his findings to a convention in Edinburgh.
Auchtertyre Primary pupil Callum Ullman-Smith has been surveying for palmate newts and other amphibians since he was seven.
He has dedicated his free time over the past three years studying a set of nine rock pools on the shore of Loch Alsh, near Reraig.
His Loch Alsh studies have unearthed an unexpected breeding population of palmate newts and has been monitoring their numbers.
It is an unusual find because the newts generally live in freshwater, rather than the more challenging conditions of the sea loch.
His work has been noticed by the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust who have invited him to present his findings to the experts at the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Symposium in Edinburgh this weekend.
Callum has presented talks before to the Highland Biological Recording Group (HBRG) and the Highland Seashore Survey Project, as the youngest member of both groups.
He recently gave a presentation on seals and whales to a visiting group of eastern Europeans when they visited Lochalsh in the spring with the HBRG.
Ahead of this weekend’s presentation he said: “I’m kind of nervous about it, but very honoured.”
He also recently did a run through of his latest talk with his classmates at Auchtertyre Primary. Callum said: “There were lots of questions from my friends and I was really grateful to my teacher for allowing me a dry run.”
Any newt sightings on the coast can be reported at www.recordpool.org.uk.