A blog and photo journal about the natural history of north-west England and beyond
In addition to the Dragonflies, Butterflies, Birds and heathland flora the main attraction at Higher Hyde Heath is the healthy population of the elusive Sand Lizard. Although I’ve been fortunate enough to see them before at Arne and closer to home at Ainsdale, they’ve been Read More …
An exceptional nature reserve managed by the Dorset Wildlife Trust. Unfortunately at the time of our visit the tails around the heathland and bog were impassable due to the heavy rains and high water table. Therefore we explored the area around the bird hide, Read More …
A great area of chalk downland managed by the National Trust next to the SW Coast Path -close to Langton Matravers. Beneath the downland this part of the “Jurassic Coast” has a long history of quarrying. Although originally this must have been an incredibly destructive Read More …
Not many posts recently due a 2 week break down south based just outside Corfe Castle, Dorset. The sheer diversity of wildlife in such a small area is incredible. Hopefully I’ll be able to illustrate some of the highlights over the next few posts. Green-winged Read More …
Bluebells – Marbury Country Park, Northwich Cuckoo Flower (Lady’s Smock) Cuckoo Flower at Barlow Tip, Chorlton Ramsons (Wild Garlic) Kenworthy Wood, Northern Moor A grand day out
Male Orange-tip Butterfly, Chorlton, Manchester One of the more colourful early spring butterflies usually seen on Cuckoo flower or Garlic Mustard (or in this case Dandelion). The bright orange tips of the males makes them unmistakable however as soon as a cloud drifts Read More …
Common Morel – South Manchester The bizarre honeycomb like cap makes this one of the easier mushrooms to identify. Quite a rare Mushroom the Morel prefers a sandy, lime rich soils complete with high humidity. After spending many years wandering around ancient woodlands, meadows, Read More …
Red Squirrel – Formby Highlights from a trip to the seaside. It was actually our first visit to Formby since the devastating outbreak of Squirrelpox in 2008. Great to see the Red Squirrels are still around and have remained relatively easy to find. Since Read More …
Wood Anemone – Marbury Country Park After the dark days of Winter the banks of Wood Anemones to the west of Budworth Mere are always a great sight. In common with a lot of our plants Anemōnē – is derived from Greek. Literally means Read More …
