Golden plover
From spring, look out for the beautiful, speckled gold-and-black breeding plumage of the golden plover. It can be found in its upland moorland breeding grounds from May to September, moving to…
From spring, look out for the beautiful, speckled gold-and-black breeding plumage of the golden plover. It can be found in its upland moorland breeding grounds from May to September, moving to…
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…
Common couch is a tall, tuft-forming grass of roadside verges, waste ground and arable land. It is very tough and can shade out more delicate plants. Look for flat, blade-like leaves and thin…
Few of us can contemplate having a wood in our back gardens, but just a few metres is enough to establish this mini-habitat!
The sanderling scampers about the waves looking for marine crustaceans, fish and even jellyfish to eat. It visits the UK in winter from its Arctic breeding grounds, but can also be seen as it…
Found along the coast all year-round, the dunlin is a small sandpiper that breeds and winters in the UK. It can be seen in its upland breeding grounds in summer, when it turns brick-red above and…
These grasslands, occupying much of the UK's heavily-grazed upland landscape, are of greater cultural than wildlife interest, but remain a habitat to some scarce and declining species.
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…
The pearl-bordered fritillary is a striking orange-and-black butterfly of sunny woodland rides and clearings. It gets its name from the row of 'pearls' on the underside of its hindwings…
These are the atmospheric oak woods of the Celtic upland fringes, where the mild, moist oceanic climate allows luxurious mats of mosses to carpet the rocky ground and creep up gnarled trunks,…
Poppy plays with molehills, watches deer and birds, and nestles in the trunks of ancient trees to get in touch with her roots. Poppy's father was an inspirational Restoration Officer at the…
A short, but pretty plant of unimproved grasslands, the Green-winged orchid gets its name from the green veins in the 'hood' of its flowers. Look for it in May and June.