Common pipistrelle
The common pipistrelle is so small, it can fit into a matchbox! Despite its size, it can easily eat 3,000 insects a night: look for it flitting around the garden or a lit lamp post as it chases…
Search
Chwilio
Buff-tip moth
It is so easy to miss this clever little moth. It is a master of disguise, blending in perfectly as it looks just like the twig of a birch tree! Flying only at night, the buff-tip moth can be seen…
Razorbill
The razorbill has a characteristically thick, black bill, with a white stripe across it. It nests with other seabirds, such as guillemots, but prefers the lower ledges and rocky bottoms of cliffs…
Common couch
Common couch is a tall, tuft-forming grass of roadside verges, waste ground and arable land. It is very tough and can shade out more delicate plants. Look for flat, blade-like leaves and thin…
Common dandelion
The common dandelion is a most familiar flower: counting down the 'clock', while blowing the fluffy seeds from its head, is a favourite childhood game. Dandelions are an important early…
Freshwater
The rain-soaked lands of Britain and Northern Ireland are rich in rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, canals and ditches. Whether natural or artificial, they are the life-force behind the wildlife we…
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…
Kestrel
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…
Common duckweed
The vast, green mats that sometimes cover the surface of still water, such as ponds, flooded gravel pits and old canals, are actually Common duckweed. A tiny, single plant, it groups together to…
Heathland and moorland
These wild, open landscapes stretch over large areas and are most often found in uplands. Although slow to awaken in spring, by late summer heathland can be an eye-catching purple haze of heather…
Oak eggar
These moths can be seen flying on sunny days, but you're more likely to spot the fuzzy caterpillars crawling over paths.
Lowland dry oak and birch wood
Gnarled veteran oaks are interspersed with groves of pale, elegant birches, while swathes of bracken and soft tussocks of wavy hair-grass cover ground from which autumn fungi sprout.…