Help wildlife in the hot weather
Lend a helping hand to wildlife in hot weather. Keep your watering stations topped up with water, and let some of your garden grow wild to provide shade for animals.
Lend a helping hand to wildlife in hot weather. Keep your watering stations topped up with water, and let some of your garden grow wild to provide shade for animals.
Despite popular belief, and its name (from the Old English for 'ear beetle'), the common earwig will not crawl into your ear while you sleep - it much prefers a nice log or stone pile!…
A ferocious and fast predator, the devil's coach horse beetle hunts invertebrates after dark in gardens and on grasslands. It is well-known for curling up its abdomen like the tail of a…
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…
The humpback whale is making a comeback, with more and more individuals being seen in UK seas every year. They are well known for their acrobatic behaviour - so don't be surprised to see them…
A common dragonfly of ponds, lakes and canals near woodland, the southern hawker can be seen patrolling the water or 'hawking' through woodland rides. A fast-flying species, it will…
Ancient upland Oak woodland. The site is part of a notified SSSI and NNR, and in turn is part of the European Natura 2000 site, the Rheidol Woods & Gorges Special Area of Conservation (SAC).…
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…
The land caddis is the only caddisfly in the UK to spend its entire time on land, with no stage in water. Look in oak leaf litter over winter to see the grainy cases of the larvae, in which they…
One of the most colourful fish in UK seas, the cuckoo wrasse looks like it belongs in the tropics. Don't be fooled though, it's very much a native species.
A scarce tree of England and Wales, the large-leaved lime is the rarest of our native limes. It is tall and broad, and can be found in forests and parks, where it is frequently planted.