How to identify
How to identify bird and butterflies in your gardens, tell the difference between native and Spanish bluebells, know your birds of prey, and identify droppings and tracks.
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Chwilio
Teal
The teal is a pretty, little dabbling duck, which can be easily spotted in winter on reservoirs, gravel pits, and flooded meadows. Watching flocks of this bird wheel through a winter sky is a true…
Green Sandpiper
The green sandpiper is a very rare breeding bird in the UK, and is mainly seen on migration in autumn. Look out for it feeding around marshes, flooded gravel pits and rivers. It even likes sewage…
Vapourer
The mohawk-sporting caterpillar of this moth is often seen on shrubs and trees in late summer. As adults the orange-brown males fly by day, but the flightless females don't stray far from…
Grassland
Flower-rich grasslands, full of wildflowers such as orchids, snake's head fritillaries and bird's-foot trefoil support an abundance of insects, from bumblebees to butterflies.
My soul food
For Dave, the mosslands are not only a place to watch and record birds, but evoke childhood memories of watching wildlife with his father. Only ten miles away from Greater Manchester, he’s always…
Red fox
Famed for their cunning and stealth, these orangey-red dogs with their bushy tails can be seen in towns and the countryside. They come out mostly at night but can also be seen during the day if…
Act swiftly! Public asked to help endangered high-flying birds
The Wildlife Trusts & RHS call on gardeners to help swifts, swallows, and martins
My laboratory
Nora’s study of bird behaviour explores how small bird communities flock together to ward off larger predators. Nature has many things to teach us and is now widely acknowledged as a key…
Emperor moth
An unmistakeable insect of heaths, sand dunes and grasslands, the Emperor moth is fluffy, grey-brown, with big peacock-like eyespots on all four wings. Males can be seen during the day, but…
St Mark's fly
The St Mark's fly is small, black and shiny. It is so-called because it emerges around St Mark's Day, April 25th. Large numbers of adults can be found in woodland edges, hedgerows,…
My relaxation
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.