My basecamp
Den-building in the woods with his granddad makes Will feel like he is part of a survival game: nature is one big adventure, and he even uses a penknife to cut twigs to build with.
Den-building in the woods with his granddad makes Will feel like he is part of a survival game: nature is one big adventure, and he even uses a penknife to cut twigs to build with.
Kissing under the mistletoe is a much-loved Christmas tradition, making this plant familiar to us all. It actually grows as a parasite on trees - look for it hanging off branches in large balls…
As the bluebells fade, yellow archangel takes its turn to impress, with golden-yellow flowers carpeting our ancient woodlands.
Wavy hair-grass lives up to its name: its fine, hair-like leaves and delicate flower heads can be seen shaking in the breeze of a windswept moorland or heathland.
Soft brome is a tall, annual grass of roadside verges, waste ground and meadows, and is a 'weed' of arable land. It has long, grey-green leaves and loosely clustered flower spikes.
Violet ground beetles are active predators, coming out at night to hunt slugs and other invertebrates in gardens, woodlands and meadows.
The flowers of Opposite-leaved golden saxifrage form 'trickles of gold' along riverbanks and streamsides in shady areas like wet woodlands.
Ania and Becky know that wildlife can be found in unexpected places at unusual times, and surveying bats in the centre of Taunton at night is nothing out of the ordinary for them.
Dark and brooding from a distance, the strong geometric lines and monotonous rows of uniformly sized trees can jar the eye and seem devoid of wildlife. But venture within and open ride edges,…
A summer visitor to the UK, the red-tailed redstart is a robin-sized bird that can be spotted in woodlands, parks and hedgerows, mainly in the north and west of the UK.
Look for the pinky-white flowers of the dog-rose in summer, and its bright red rosehips in autumn. It is a scrambling shrub of hedgerows, woodlands and grasslands.
The nuthatch is a tit-sized, grey and rust-coloured bird that can be easily spotted climbing headfirst down tree trunks in woodlands and parks.