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…
Search
Chwilio
Black-throated diver
The streamlined black-throated diver is a superb swimmer and diver, but not so graceful on land! During the summer, the distinctive black patch on its throat appears, heralding the breeding season…
Sea-holly
The spiky, silvery leaves of Sea-holly give this plants its common name. Look for its beautiful, thistle-like, blue blooms on coastlines and sand dunes in summer.
Moorland
One of our most extensive habitats, moorlands cover huge areas in the uplands. Great expanses of unenclosed, wild-seeming land impart a sense of freedom and adventure, although the wide, open…
Kidney vetch
The small, yellow flowers and woolly appearance of kidney vetch make this plant easy to spot. Look for it growing low to the ground on sand dunes, chalk grasslands and cliffs in summer.
Timothy
Timothy is a grass of meadows, arable land, waste ground and roadside verges. It is also cultivated as fodder for livestock. Look for slender stems and long, cylindrical flower spikes in summer.…
Large skipper
As its name suggests, the large skipper is bigger than the similar-looking small skipper! It can be seen in summer, resting on the long grass of grasslands, woodlands, verges and sand dunes.
My passion
Chris is the Southern Reserves Manager at Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust and leads a team of staff, wardens and volunteers in caring for our nature reserves in the South of Nottinghamshire. This…
Osprey
A great way to get up close and personal with the magnificent osprey is via one of the many nestcams set-up in the places that it breeds: Scotland, Cumbria, Wales and the East Midlands.
Bloody crane's-bill
Bloody crane's-bill has striking magenta flowers that pepper our rare limestone pavements, grasslands and sand dunes with summer colour. It is a favourite of all kinds of insects, including…
Purple-loosestrife
A tall plant, purple-loosestrife can form dense stands of bright purple flower spikes in wet habitats like reedbeds, fens and marshes.
Common octopus
The common octopus is a highly intelligent, active predator. It even has a secret weapon - special glands produce a venom that it uses to incapacitate its prey!