Midland hawthorn
In May, our hedgerows and woodland edges burst into life as Midland hawthorn erupts with masses of pinky-white blossom. During the autumn, red fruits known as 'haws' appear.
Chwilio
Speckled wood butterfly - Vicky Nall
Chwilio
Terns of the tide
Many terns prefer to nest in coastal habitats and so can be vulnerable to high tides and storms. As we celebrate Cemlyn's 50th anniversary as a nature reserve we take a look at the history of…
Black poplar
The black poplar is a large tree of floodplains, flooded gravel pits and ditches, particularly in England. Despite being an important part of our culture for centuries, it has declined massively…
Small blue
The small blue's name is a little misleading: it is our smallest butterfly, but only shows a dusting of blue on brown wings. It is scarce, occurring on chalk grassland, mostly in southern…
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.
Red campion
Just as the bluebells finish flowering in our woodlands, the rose-red blooms of red campion start to brighten up the woodland floor. Look for this pretty plant in hedges and roadsides, too.
White-tailed eagle
The huge white-tailed eagle is our largest bird of prey. After being persecuted to extinction in the UK, it has been successfully reintroduced in Scotland and, more recently, to the Isle of Wight…
Footballers, batmen and heroes
Find out all about hoverflies with insect expert Vicki Hird MSc FRES, in this fascinating blog from our friends at The Wildlife Trusts.
Blue-tailed damselfly
The blue-tailed damselfly does, indeed, have a blue tail. It is one of our most common species and frequents gardens - try digging a wildlife pond to attract dragonflies and damselflies.
Common seal
The smaller of our two UK seal species, common seals are also known as harbour seals. Despite being called "Common", they are actually less common than grey seals!
Common mouse-ear
Common mouse-ear is a persistent 'weed' of fields and gardens, verges and hedgerows - all kinds of habitats. But, like many of our weed species, it is still a good food source for…
Common cotton-grass
The fluffy, white heads of common cotton-grass dot our brown, boggy moors and heaths as if a giant bag of cotton wool balls has been thrown across the landscape!