My oasis
Growing up and living in the countryside for much of her life, Helen is used to big wide open spaces and loves being outside. She enjoys coming to the Centre for Wildlife Gardening, as it’s like…
Growing up and living in the countryside for much of her life, Helen is used to big wide open spaces and loves being outside. She enjoys coming to the Centre for Wildlife Gardening, as it’s like…
The kestrel is a familiar sight hovering over the side of the road, looking out for its favourite food: small mammals like field voles. It prefers open habitats like grassland, farmland and…
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…
These feisty crustaceans are the ‘Houdinis’ of the rocky shore, evading capture as soon as disturbed!
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!
A scrambling 'weed' of waste ground, fields and gardens, Common fumitory can be found on dry and disturbed soils. Its pink flowers appear over spring and summer.
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…
A voracious predator that will even eat other dragonflies, the golden-ringed dragonfly is the UK's longest species. It can be found around acidic streams in moorland and heathland habitats.…
The exotic and beautiful Swallowtail is the UK's largest butterfly. A strong flier, residents can be spotted over wetlands in Norfolk during summer. Migrants occasionally appear in southern…
The black-headed gull is actually a chocolate-brown headed gull! And for much of the year, it's head even turns white. Look out for it in large, noisy flocks on a variety of habitats.
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.