Water shrew
The large, dark grey water shrew lives mostly in wetland habitats. It's a good swimmer that hunts for aquatic insects and burrows into the banks.
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Chwilio
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.
Keeping the mobile mowers hydrated!
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…
Protected Areas
Many areas are specially protected for their wildlife value. They range from vast landscapes to single fields. Some are protected by law, and others by policy. The planning system should protect these areas and the wildlife that lives in them.
My daytime drama
Carol loves watching the rituals of the birds at Rutland Water, especially at the feeding station that she helps to maintain as a volunteer. She loves to lose herself in her own personal episode…
Beaches and strandlines
Skip the town beach and find an untamed shore to explore. Wild sand and shingle beaches are great places to see the variety of natural habitats and the amazing force of the elements that help…
Reedbed
Found between water and land, reedbeds are transitional habitats. They can form extensive swamps in lowland floodplains or fringe streams, rivers, ditches, ponds and lakes with a thin feathery…
Common spike-rush
Forming mats of straight, bright green stems, Common spike-rush does, indeed, look like lots of tightly clustered 'spikes' near the water's edge of our wetland habitats.
Large thyme
The aromatic fragrance of Large thyme can punctuate a summer walk over a chalk grassland. It is an evergreen that grows low to the ground, with erect spikes of tiny, lilac flowers appearing over…
Tall melilot
Tall melilot was introduced into the UK as a fodder crop, but has now become naturalised. It displays golden, pea-like flowers on tall spikes, which are followed by black, hairy seed pods.
Thornback ray
The most commonly encountered ray around the British Isles, it's easy to see where the thornback ray got its name from - just check out the spines on its back!
My water filter
Duncan helps to manage the pockets of peatland at Bell Crag Flow, near Newcastle. The ancient landscapes that he works on are around 10,000 years old. These sites are great for wildlife but they…