Giant horntail
With yellow-and-black bands, the giant horntail looks like a large wasp, but is harmless to us. The female uses her long, stinger-like ovipositor to lay eggs in pine trees, where the larvae then…
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Chwilio
Orange ladybird
The orange ladybird is pale orange with up to 16 cream spots on its wing cases. It feeds on mildew on trees like sycamore and ash, and hibernates in the leaf litter. It often turns up in moth…
Ivy
Ivy is one of our most familiar plants, seen climbing up trees, walls, and along the ground, almost anywhere. It is a great provider of food and shelter for all kinds of animals, from butterflies…
Strawberry Cottage Wood nature reserve
Strawberry Cottage Wood is one of GWT’s less-known reserves. But it’s our local one, just over five miles from Abergavenny. Usually, we’d be there on the second Sunday of every month, doing…
Wet woodland
Wet woodlands in the UK can be wild, secretive places. Tangles of trailing creepers, tussocky sedges and lush tall-herbs conceal swampy pools and partially submerged fallen willow trunks, likely…
Downlooker snipefly
The Downlooker snipefly gets its name from its habit of sitting on posts or sunny trees with its head facing down to the ground, waiting for passing prey. It prefers grassland, scrub and woodland…
Goosander
The streamlined goosander is a handsome bird and a great fisher - its long, serrated bill helps it to catch and hold its slippery fish prey. It nests in riverbank trees, but can be seen on lakes…
My neighbourhood
Sir David Attenborough has travelled the world in search of wildlife and wild spaces. But much closer to home, he can explore the hidden woodland at Crane Park Island, discover flying stag beetles…
Ptarmigan
The ptarmigan is a master of disguise - matching its Highland surroundings perfectly by turning snow-white in winter and rock-grey in summer. It is confined to the mountains of Scotland, so is…
Oyster mushroom
Oyster mushrooms are shell shaped fungi that grow in tiers or fabulous clusters on dead trees or stumps. Unlike many fungi, these mushrooms are not seasonal and can be found all year round,…
My breath of fresh air
Michael manages Stanley Moss Nature Reserve; he loves the serenity of the area and the different wildlife that he can see. The area was once used for coal mining, and was drained and planted with…
Spindle
A small woodland and hedgerow tree, Spindle is most striking in the autumn when clusters of bright pink-and-orange berries hang from its twigs, providing food for mice, birds and even Red Foxes.…