My recovery plan
Michelle was diagnosed with breast cancer in the summer of 2014. After undergoing a life-saving operation and an intensive chemotherapy course, she is on the road to recovery.
Wildlife…
Chwilio
Speckled wood butterfly - Vicky Nall
Chwilio
My happy place
When the stresses of life get too much, I take a walk through Attenborough Nature Reserve - a form of free therapy. The fresh air, the bird calls, the beauty of nature surrounding me, is calming.…
Songs of the Spinnies - Part 3: The Kingfisher Hide
The Spinnies Aberogwen's Kingfisher Hide is the best place to see and listen to the kingfisher. But what other birds can you see and listen to here? In Part 3 of our series 'Song of the…
Saltmarsh and mudflats
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…
Summer on the seashore
With plenty of the summer left there’s loads of time for exploring! You’ll find a good rockpool almost anywhere you go – even on a sandy beach if you explore around the groynes or sand pools you’re bound to find some fish or prawns darting around.
My dinner party
Niamh loves to feed the birds, so makes natural feeders out of pinecones and berries, to help them through the winter. She’ll tie this to a branch so that the birds can feast from it safely.
Homes for wildlife
Here are some simple actions you can take at home to help birds flourish on your patch.
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.
Goldeneye
A medium-sized diving duck, the goldeneye can mainly be spotted in winter when birds fly in from Northern Europe. Conservation efforts have helped small numbers of these birds to nest in Scotland…
Red-breasted carrion beetle
These distinctive beetles are often found around dead birds and small mammals.
Heathland and moorland
These wild, open landscapes stretch over large areas and are most often found in uplands. Although slow to awaken in spring, by late summer heathland can be an eye-catching purple haze of heather…
Song of the Spinnies - Part 4: The Viley Hide
As the newest addition, many visitors to the Spinnies Aberogwen Nature Reserve might miss this hide as they travel through the nature reserve. But with extremely good lighting for photos and with…