What to feed hedgehogs and badgers
Putting out a bit of food can help see mammals like hedgehogs through colder spells.
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Chwilio
Great black-backed gull
This huge gull can be seen around most of the UK's coasts in summer, with some venturing inland in winter.
Scorpionfly
The scorpionfly, as its name suggests, has a curved 'tail' that looks like a sting. It is, in fact, the males' claspers for mating. It is yellow and black, with a long 'beak…
Golden plover
From spring, look out for the beautiful, speckled gold-and-black breeding plumage of the golden plover. It can be found in its upland moorland breeding grounds from May to September, moving to…
Nightingale
The melodious song of the nightingale is the most likely sign of this bird being about. Shy and secretive, it sings from dense scrub and woodland, day and night.
Coastal and floodplain grazing marsh
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,…
My regeneration
30 years ago, if Jeremy had fallen in the river then he’d have been more worried about being poisoned than drowned! A 1980s trawl survey found just one fish in the Billingham reach of the Tees,…
Grey seal
Have you ever seen the curious face of a grey seal bobbing in the waves when visiting the beach? Grey seals can be seen lying on beaches waiting for their food to go down. Sometimes they are…
How to build a hedgehog home
By providing safe places for hedgehogs to live, you’re much more likely to see these prickly creatures in your garden.
Carrion crow
The all-black carrion crow does not nest in colonies like the similar rook. It can be seen almost everywhere.
Ragworm
The ragworm is highly common on our shores, though rarely seen except by the fishermen that dig them up for bait.
Early purple orchid
The Early purple orchid is one of the first orchids to pop up in spring. Look for its pinkish-purple flowers from April, when bluebells still carpet our woodland floors. Its leaves are dark green…