Little egret
The elegant little egret was once a rare visitor to our shores, but can now regularly be spotted around the coastline of England and Wales. Look out for its beautiful neck plumes that herald the…
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Chwilio
Yellow wagtail
The yellow wagtail can be spotted running about, chasing insects on lowland damp marshes and meadows during summer. As its name suggests, it does wag its tail!
My family history
Whilst researching his family history, Vic found that many of his ancestors were connected to wild places as gamekeepers, shepherds, millers, gardeners or agricultural labourers. His lifelong love…
Narrow-headed ant
A very rare ant, once found on heathland across southern England but now restricted to Scotland and Devon. It constructs distinctive thatched nests in open areas at the edges of scrub, and forages…
Lizard orchid
The petals of the rare Lizard orchid's flowers form the head, legs and long tail of a lizard. They are greenish, with light pink spots and stripes, and smell strongly of goats! Spot this tall…
Henllys Bog
A small but perfectly formed valley mire, full of rare and interesting plants. Encircled by alder and beech trees, this reserve has a wonderful feeling of seclusion and tranquillity.
Great white egret
As the name suggests, this tall, white heron is considerably larger than the similar little egret. Once a rare visitor to the UK, sightings have become more common over the last few decades, with…
Whooper swan
The whooper swan is a very rare breeding bird in the UK, but has much larger populations that spend winter here after a long journey from Iceland. It has more yellow on its yellow-and-black bill…
Calaminarian grassland
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…
My haven
I was privileged to be able to be a volunteer at the start of the Skylarks project. It was my way of “pay back” for all the time I had used Skylarks Nature Reserve before Nottinghamshire Wildlife…
My experiment
Simon has been restoring Wild Meadows for three years. By planting trees, digging a lake and sowing meadows, he is showing how quickly wildlife like otters, badgers and tawny owls can return, and…
20 ways to help garden wildlife this winter
There’s more going on in gardens during winter than meets the eye. Many insects and mammals are safely hiding away or hibernating, whether they are active or not there’s lots of ways to optimize…