Mandarin duck
A pretty and distinctive little waterbird, the mandarin duck was introduced from the Far East as its name suggests. Oddly for a duck, it nests in trees, sometimes high above the water.
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Chwilio
Skomer Island
With nearly 350,000 breeding pairs of Manx Shearwaters, over 40,000 Puffins, thousands of Guillemots, Razorbills and Kittiwakes and hundreds of Fulmars, Skomer is an internationally important seabird island.
It is located less than a mile off the beautiful Pembrokeshire coast making it a great place to visit for the day or stay overnight.
Please note, Puffins start arriving in mid-April. They are present from May-July. The first ones start leaving in mid-July and all Puffins are gone by the end of July. Please see our seasonal timeline below for what to see each month.
It is located less than a mile off the beautiful Pembrokeshire coast making it a great place to visit for the day or stay overnight.
Please note, Puffins start arriving in mid-April. They are present from May-July. The first ones start leaving in mid-July and all Puffins are gone by the end of July. Please see our seasonal timeline below for what to see each month.
Brown hawker
A common dragonfly of canals, marshes, reedbeds and lakes, the Brown hawker can be seen patrolling the water or 'hawking' through woodland rides. It is easily distinguished by its…
Common pond skater
The common pond skater can be seen 'skating' over the surface of ponds, lakes, ditches and slow-moving rivers. It is predatory, feeding on small insects by detecting vibrations in the…
Flowering rush
Flowering rush is a pretty rush-like plant of shallow wetland habitats, such as ponds, canals and ditches. Its cup-shaped, pink flowers appear in summer, brightening up the water's edge.
Swollen-thighed beetle
This metallic green beetle can be seen visiting flowers on sunny days in spring and summer.
Red squirrels
There are two species of squirrel in the UK; red squirrels and grey squirrels. Red squirrels are our native species and have lived in the UK for around 10,000 years, Grey squirrels were introduced to the UK from North America by the Victorians in the 1800s, the first record of them escaping and establishing a wild population is 1876.
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.
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…
My gateway
John has been attending the Recovery Project at Idle Valley Nature Reserve for three years. After being diagnosed with dyslexia and getting bullied for several years at school, he was left with…
Glesyn y celyn
Cadwch lygad am y glöyn byw bychan, Glesyn y Celyn, yn eich gardd neu barc lleol. Dyma'r glöyn byw glas cyntaf i ymddangos yn y gwanwyn, ac mae ail genhedlaeth yn ymddangos yn yr haf. Mae…
Remembering Steve Sutcliffe
The staff and volunteers of The Wildlife Trust of South & West Wales were deeply saddened to hear of the recent death of Stephen Sutcliffe (1946-2025). Steve was a very long-term supporter of…