Great tit
A familiar garden bird, the great tit can be seen around bird tables and feeders, as well as in woodlands and parks. Listen out for its shrill song that sounds just like a bicycle pump being used…
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Chwilio
Red mason bee
The red mason bee is a common, gingery bee that can be spotted nesting in the crumbling mortar of old walls. Encourage bees to nest in your garden by putting out a tin can full of short, hollow…
Act swiftly! Public asked to help endangered high-flying birds
The Wildlife Trusts & RHS call on gardeners to help swifts, swallows, and martins
Common pipistrelle
The common pipistrelle is so small, it can fit into a matchbox! Despite its size, it can easily eat 3,000 insects a night: look for it flitting around the garden or a lit lamp post as it chases…
My reward
Carole has been volunteering at Idle Valley for seven years now; whilst she used to get involved with the heavy work out on the reserve, the garden is now her domain, working with the Recovery…
Notch-horned cleg-fly (horse fly)
The notch-horned cleg-fly isa horse fly dark grey in colour, with grey-brown mottled wings and intricately striped, iridescent eyes. There are 30 species of horse-fly in the UK; this is one of the…
My timeout
Jessica-Jane Applegate MBE is a Paralympic and World Champion swimmer. She spends so much time training and rushing around from one venue to another, her favourite place is her garden. Here she…
Swift
Swifts spend most of their lives flying – even sleeping, eating and drinking – only ever landing to nest. They like to nest in older buildings in small holes in roof spaces.
Stone curlew
Stone curlews are unusual waders with large yellow eyes - perfect for hunting beetles at night.
Stork's-bill
The bill-shaped seed pods of Common Stork's-bill explode when ripe, sending the seeds flying! This low-growing plant has pretty pink flowers and can be seen on grasslands and coastal sands.…
Raised bog
Unlike blanket bog, which smothers vast tracts of the uplands, raised bogs are discrete entities, often individually named, and are mostly found within agricultural landscapes in the lowlands.
My Early Days
I was appointed to the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust on 20th July 2020, as Head of Nature Recovery South, after being interviewed on two Zoom meetings, a very odd experience in these strange…