Spiral wrack
This brown seaweed lives high up on rocky shores, just below the high water mark. Its blades are usually twisted, giving it the name Spiral Wrack.
This brown seaweed lives high up on rocky shores, just below the high water mark. Its blades are usually twisted, giving it the name Spiral Wrack.
Enormous flocks of geese, ducks and swans swirl down from wide skies to drop onto the flat, open expanses of flooded grazing marshes in winter. In spring, lapwing tumble overhead and the soft,…
The Broad-bodied chaser is a common dragonfly that can be seen in summer around ponds and lakes, and even in gardens. It lives up to its name: its flattened body gives it a fat, broad look.
The metallic-green Musk beetle lives up to its name: it releases a musky-smelling secretion when it defends itself. It is a longhorn beetle, so has lengthy antennae. Look for it near wetlands in…
The red-throated diver lives up to its name - the distinctive red patch on its throat heralds the breeding season. In summer, it nests in Scotland, but look out for it around the UK's coast…
Musk mallow has pretty pink flowers that can be seen along roadside verges, hedgerows and field margins in summer. It lives up to its name, producing a delicate, musky smell that increases indoors…
This yellow-brown seaweed grows in tufts at the very top of rocky shores. Its fronds curls at the sides, creating the channel that gives Chanelled Wrack its name.
John has worked in fisheries management for over 25 years. He has seen our waterways at their best – and their worst. He knows firsthand how devastating unhealthy rivers can be for wildlife and…
A ferocious and agile predator, the green tiger beetle hunts spiders, ants and caterpillars on heaths, grasslands and sand dunes. It is one of our fastest insects and a dazzling metallic green…
The hot weather has meant that Steph has been kept busy making sure that the mobile mowers have enough water. Bowsers are deployed at a few reserves which need regular topping up. Some sites are…
Toadflax-leaved St John's-wort has star-shaped, bright yellow flowers. It is a rare plant, with most of its population existing on Dartmoor. It likes steep, sunny slopes, acidic soils and…