Maritime cliff
Whether they are tumbles of soft rock home to a variety of invertebrates, or hard, soaring rock faces bustling with huge seabird colonies, maritime cliffs may be challenging to explore but are…
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Chwilio
Reedbed
Found between water and land, reedbeds are transitional habitats. They can form extensive swamps in lowland floodplains or fringe streams, rivers, ditches, ponds and lakes with a thin feathery…
Emperor moth
An unmistakeable insect of heaths, sand dunes and grasslands, the Emperor moth is fluffy, grey-brown, with big peacock-like eyespots on all four wings. Males can be seen during the day, but…
Wood sage
Despite having the familiar sage-green leaves, Wood sage has very little scent, so is not a good cooking herb. It can be found on acidic soils on sand dunes, heaths and cliffs, and along woodland…
My secret garden
Rowan loves the fresh smell and sight of the buttercups in the wildflower meadows at Besthorpe. It's a special place because there are precious few spots like this where she can spend time…
Sphagnum moss
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…
Rowan
Often a lone figure on a windswept mountainside or heath, the rowan tree can stand for up to 200 years. It is well known for its masses of red berries that attract all kinds of birds, including…
Red squirrel
Red squirrels are native to the UK but are a lot rarer than their grey cousins. They live in a few special places across the UK thanks to reintroduction projects.
Wye... is it flooding in Radnorshire?
The River Wye (Afon Gwy) is the fourth longest in the UK at approximately 155miles in length meandering between Wales and England. The Wye and its tributaries span most of Radnorshire, connecting…
Water scorpion
The water scorpion is not a true scorpion, but it certainly looks like one! An underwater predator, it uses its front pincer-like legs to catch its prey. Its tail actually acts as a kind of '…
Common octopus
The common octopus is a highly intelligent, active predator. It even has a secret weapon - special glands produce a venom that it uses to incapacitate its prey!
My calendar
Stephen walks around his local patch once or twice a week throughout the year. He looks and listens carefully to discover the wild creatures hidden in the reedbed and surrounding woods.
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