Bryn Pydew Nature Reserve
The combination of woodland, wildflowers and butterflies means that this limestone-based reserve is buzzing with life – a real summer treat!
The combination of woodland, wildflowers and butterflies means that this limestone-based reserve is buzzing with life – a real summer treat!
Rare summer visitors, honey buzzards breed in open woodland where they feed on the nests and larvae of bees and wasps.
Common cow-wheat is a delicate annual that brightens up the edges of acid woodland and heaths with deep golden flowers in the summer.
This stunning hermit crab has only returned to our southern shores in recent years. Let us hope it stays for good this time!
In mild years, the spring-flowering primrose can appear as early as December. Look out for its pretty, creamy-yellow flowers in woodlands and grasslands.
Look for the small, pink, pea-shaped flowers of Common restharrow on chalk and limestone grasslands, and in coastal areas, during summer.
Enchanter's nightshade is a hairy plant, with rounded leaves that taper to a fine tip, and clusters of small, pinky-white flowers in summer.
The ocean sunfish is the second largest bony fish on the planet and visits UK seas during the summer months to feast on jellyfish.
The Keeled skimmer is a dragonfly of heaths and commons with shallow pools. It has a skittish and weak flight, and is on the wing in summer and early autumn.
The lowest Spring tides of the year can reveal areas of the shore very sensitive to footfall. Care was taken as we accessed areas full of worm tubes, anemones, breeding slugs and luscious red…
The dazzling silver-studded blue is a rare butterfly of heathland habitats, mainly in southern England. It has undergone severe population declines in recent years.
My wild life started before I was old enough to walk, being regularly taken by my mother across the Epsom Downs to enjoy fresh air. Moving to rural Staffordshire aged 3, I was incredibly lucky to…