Moorhen
A familiar black bird of our lakes, ponds and rivers, the moorhen is widespread; look out for its large and untidy-looking nest on the water in spring. It can be distinguished from the similar…
Chwilio
Speckled wood butterfly - Vicky Nall
Chwilio
Autumn gentian
A late-flowering plant, Autumn gentian displays pretty, mauve, tube-like flowers atop its reddish stems. It favours dry, chalk grassland and sand dune habitats.
Marsh gentian
The bright blue, trumpet-shaped flowers of the marsh gentian contrast deeply with the pinks and purples of the wet heaths it inhabits. The New Forest holds a large population of this late-…
Meadow saffron
A late-blooming flower, Meadow saffron looks like a crocus, displaying similar pink flowers once its leaves have died back. It is a highly poisonous plant of meadows and woodland rides and…
Swallow
Look out for the swallow performing great aerial feats as it catches its insect-prey on the wing. You may also see it perching on a wire, or roosting in a reedbed, as it makes its way back to…
A collective noun for wardens
In the final of our series of blogs to mark the fiftieth anniversary of Cemlyn as a nature reserve we recall the wardens and volunteers who have played such an important role in protecting the…
Seagrass Ocean Rescue
The UK has lost up to 90% of its seagrass meadows in the past century, which has had negative consequences for the health and resilience of our coastal systems. In 2019, Swansea University, the charity Project Seagrass and WWF-UK formed a collaboration to begin to restore some of what we have lost. Concurrently, over the last six years Swansea University has been leading trials across Wales to develop appropriate methods for seagrass restoration. Here in North Wales, we've now teamed up with the partnership to start exploring how we can bring this exciting project to North Wales. Funding secured from the National Lottery Heritage Fund allows us to deliver a socially agreeable and ecologically sound programme of restoration and we want you to get involved.
Committees and caravans - their role in saving terns
In the final two blogs to mark the fiftieth anniversary of Cemlyn as a nature reserve we recall some of the people who have being involved in the protection of the Cemlyn tern colony and celebrate…
Building a wildlife-friendly garden for the community in Bristol
The Beehive Community Centre wanted to improve their garden for people and wildlife and get out into the local community. Two years later, Amber, the community manager, explains how the project…
Summer on North Wales' coast
Encountering wildlife in its natural environment is a privilege and, while spending time scanning the open sea can be therapeutic in itself, coupled with chance encounters these experiences can…
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…
Glowing in the dark is just the start …
Did you know that 90% of fungi in existence are unknown to science? DNA tests on soil samples can produce fungi which don’t match any known species. These are the ‘Dark Taxa’ – a great name for…