Lowland heath
Heathlands form some of the wildest landscapes in the lowlands, where agriculture and development jostle for space, containing and limiting natural processes. Once considered as waste land of…
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Chwilio
Wigeon
The wigeon is a colourful duck that can often be spotted wheeling round our winter skies in large flocks. A dabbling duck, it surface-feeds on plants and seeds in shallow waters.
Rabbit
Who doesn’t love spotting rabbits hopping through long grass during a walk in the countryside? They are a common sight but it is always a treat to see their curious faces popping up, ears stood…
Can nature recover in the busy Irish Sea?
Where we are standing on a wobbly pontoon in life jackets seems an unlikely place for a nature restoration project. We are in the middle of Belfast harbour, with grey cityscape all around us, the…
Eel
The eel is famous for both its slippery nature and its mammoth migration from its freshwater home to the Sargasso Sea where it breeds. It has suffered dramatic declines and is a protected species…
My retirement
Malcolm loves volunteering every week at Blashford Lakes Nature Reserve where he indulges in his passion for wildlife, keeps active and meets with friends.
Pheasant
A handsome gamebird, the pheasant is an introduced species that has settled here with little problem. It can be spotted in its farmland and woodland habitats, although you'll probably hear…
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…
Dartford warbler
The small, brown Dartford warbler is most easily spotted when warbling its scratchy song from the top of a gorse stem. It lives on lowland heathland in the south of England, where it nests on the…
Wildlife Trusts Wales calls for fresh thinking about the country’s nature crisis
One in six species in Wales is in danger of extinction
My favourite show
Ben keeps a diary of all the wildlife that he spots. He challenges himself to see new species: if he finds something that he doesn’t recognise, he takes a photograph so that he can look it up.
Japanese knotweed
Introduced from Japan in the 19th century, Japanese knotweed is now an invasive non-native plant of many riverbanks, waste grounds and roadside verges, where it prevents native species from…