Common backswimmer
The fearsome common backswimmer hunts insects, tadpoles and fish. It uses its oar-like legs to swim upside-down under the water's surface where unsuspecting prey can be found.
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Chwilio
My history book
Tim has volunteered at Astley Moss for five years, helping to increase the water levels on the bogs back to their historic healthy levels. He especially loves watching the birds return to this…
How to make a woodland edge garden for wildlife
Few of us can contemplate having a wood in our back gardens, but just a few metres is enough to establish this mini-habitat!
Teithiau Cerdded Cymraeg
Yn yr Ymddiriedolaeth Natur De a Gorllewin Cymru, rydym yn angerddol am ddefnyddio'r Gymraeg i gysylltu pobl â bywyd gwyllt Cymru. Beth bynnag yw eich gallu, mae gennym amrywiaeth o ddigwyddiadau lle gallwch ddysgu mwy am fywyd gwyllt lleol yn Gymraeg.
American mink
Escaped or intentionally freed from fur farms in the 1960s, the American mink is now well established in the UK. Its carnivorous nature is a threat to our native water vole and seabird populations…
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.
Great reedmace
Great reedmace is familiar to many of us as the archetypal 'bulrush'. Look for its tall stems, sausage-like, brown flower heads and green, flat leaves at the water's edge in our…
Gem (or wartlet) anemone
Not to be confused with the ‘jewel anemone’ which resides in deeper waters, the gem anemone is just as wonderful a find on the rocky shore!
Great crested grebe
The graceful great crested grebe is a familiar sight on our lakes and reservoirs, and is well-known for its elaborate courtship dance, during which it rises vertically out of the water and shakes…
How to create a mini pond
Even a small pond can be home to an interesting range of wildlife, including damsel and dragonflies, frogs and newts.
Common duckweed
The vast, green mats that sometimes cover the surface of still water, such as ponds, flooded gravel pits and old canals, are actually Common duckweed. A tiny, single plant, it groups together to…
Large red damselfly
If you have a garden pond, look out for the Large red damselfly resting at the water's edge. As the name suggests, males are bright red with a black thorax, but females may be almost entirely…