Grey willow
One of our commonest willows, the Grey willow is a small tree that is found in ditches, reedbeds and wet woodland. It is well-known for its silver, fluffy catkins that give it another name, '…
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Chwilio
My board meeting
On their boards, Tom and Finn get to rub shoulders with mackerel, eels, crabs, bass, whiting and more. Very soon, they hope to add dolphins to that list too.
Cwm Ivy Woods and Betty Church Reserve
Ancient broadleaved woodland, plantation, calcareous pasture and quarry. A small part of the leasehold land is notified SSSI, being part of the Cwm Ivy Marsh, Dunes, and Tor SSSI.
Dartford warbler
The small, brown Dartford warbler is most easily spotted when warbling its scratchy song from the top of a gorse stem. It lives on lowland heathland in the south of England, where it nests on the…
Shag
Shag' is a very old name that means 'tufted' and refers to the small crest that this bird sports. Look out for it in spring and summer either diving for fish from the surface of the…
Northern gannet
Famed for its super-fast fishing dives into the sea, the northern gannet (or gannet) is a distinctive white bird with a yellow head and black wingtips. It nests in large, noisy, smelly colonies on…
Gadwall
The gadwall is a dabbling duck, feeding at the surface of shallow water by 'upending' - putting its head down and its bottom up! Only a small number of gadwall nest in the UK, but large…
Cae Pwll y Bo
This small damp meadow is known for its spectacular display of globeflowers. The reserve is all that remains of a much larger field that was originally part of Pwll y Bo farm (Hobgoblin pool in…
Brandt's bat
The small, shaggy-furred Brandt's bat roosts in all sorts of houses, old or modern. It is similar to the whiskered bat and they often roost together, but in separate colonies. It feeds low to…
Clouded yellow
The clouded yellow is a migrant that arrives here from May onwards. Usually, only small numbers turn up, but some years see mass migrations. It prefers open habitats, particularly chalk grassland…
Spindle
A small woodland and hedgerow tree, Spindle is most striking in the autumn when clusters of bright pink-and-orange berries hang from its twigs, providing food for mice, birds and even Red Foxes.…
Water vole
The water vole is under serious threat from habitat loss and predation by the American mink. Found along our waterways, it is similar-looking to the brown rat, but with a blunt nose, small ears…