White willow
So-named for the silvery-white appearance of its leaves, the White willow can be seen along riverbanks, around lakes and in wet woodlands. Like other willows, it produces catkins in spring.
So-named for the silvery-white appearance of its leaves, the White willow can be seen along riverbanks, around lakes and in wet woodlands. Like other willows, it produces catkins in spring.
Being outdoors and surrounded by nature is important to Keith. Getting out by the river after a day at the office is the perfect wind down.
Recently, even though we were locked down at home, we went on safari. Not to Africa, of course, just in our garden, doing an audit known as a bioblitz of the creatures living in it.
Why not…
30 years ago, if Jeremy had fallen in the river then he’d have been more worried about being poisoned than drowned! A 1980s trawl survey found just one fish in the Billingham reach of the Tees,…
This is a strange, sparse habitat of grassland growing on old mining tracks and slag heaps, on river gravels and naturally exposed metal-rich soils in the mountains. Only the toughest metal-loving…
Whether found in a garden or part of an agricultural landscape, ponds are oases of wildlife worth investigating. Even small ponds can support a wealth of species and collectively, ponds play a key…
The common octopus is a highly intelligent, active predator. It even has a secret weapon - special glands produce a venom that it uses to incapacitate its prey!
Selfheal is a low-growing, creeping plant that likes the short turf of grasslands, roadside verges or even lawns. Its clusters of violet flowers appear in summer.
Gnarled veteran oaks are interspersed with groves of pale, elegant birches, while swathes of bracken and soft tussocks of wavy hair-grass cover ground from which autumn fungi sprout.…
The soft, downy look of Yorkshire-fog makes it an attractive plant, even if it is considered a weed of cultivated land! It is also attractive to the caterpillars of the Small Skipper butterfly as…
The male purple emperor is a stunning butterfly with a brilliant purple sheen. Look for it feeding around the treetops in woodlands, or on damp ground, animal droppings or even carrion in the…
The Ringlet gets its name from the small rings on the undersides of its wings. These rings show variation in the different forms of this species, even elongating into a teardrop shape.