Robin's pincushion
Living up to its name, the Robin's pincushion is a red, round, hairy growth that can be seen on wild roses. It is caused by the larvae of a tiny gall wasp that feeds on the host plant, but…
Living up to its name, the Robin's pincushion is a red, round, hairy growth that can be seen on wild roses. It is caused by the larvae of a tiny gall wasp that feeds on the host plant, but…
Saltwater marshes and mudflats form as saltwater floods swiftly and silently up winding creeks to cover the marsh before retreating again. This process reveals glistening mud teeming with the…
A rare breeder in the UK, this sooty-coloured bird is as at home on an industrial site as it is on a rocky cliff face.
A common plant of disturbed ground like roadside verges and field edges, the spear thistle has purple, fluffy flower heads that appear in summer. Its flowers attract insects and its seeds feed…
Sphagnum mosses carpet the ground with colour on our marshes, heaths and moors. They play a vital role in the creation of peat bogs: by storing water in their spongy forms, they prevent the decay…
A familiar 'weed' of gardens, roadsides, meadows and parks, red clover has trefoil leaves and red, rounded flower heads. It is often used as fodder for livestock.
Ann and her husband nurture and cultivate specialist sphagnum mosses and vascular plants like bog cranberry for a community area of the moss: they’re kickstarting the vegetation growth on Little…
Emma balances her digital working life with a love of wildlife and her role as a Watch Group leader. Helping children appreciate the great outdoors, opening up a new world of discovery and shaping…
The silvery chub can be seen gathering in large shoals in lowland rivers and streams. It is a member of the carp family and looks very similar to the dace, but is larger and has redder fins.
Timothy is a grass of meadows, arable land, waste ground and roadside verges. It is also cultivated as fodder for livestock. Look for slender stems and long, cylindrical flower spikes in summer.…
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.
A common hoverfly, the Heineken fly has a distinctively long snout that enables it to take nectar from deeper flowers, reaching the parts other hoverflies cannot reach! It frequents hedgerows,…