Wildflower meadows
Whether it is a blaze of yellow from meadow buttercups or the spikes of green-winged and early purple orchids – North Wales's wild meadows hum with life from the first spring bloom to the purple of the last of the black knapweed.
Chwilio
Speckled wood butterfly - Vicky Nall
Chwilio
Broad-bordered bee hawk-moth
The broad-bordered bee hawk-moth does, indeed, look like a bee! A scarce moth, mainly of Central and Southern England, it feeds on the wing and can be seen during spring and summer.
Shoresearch Cymru rocky shore surveys October 2021
With the nights drawing in, surveying low tide in daylight around North Wales becomes trickier, so we made the most of the large Spring tides earlier in October, before the clocks turned.
Breadcrumb sponge
This sponge is found on rocky shores around the UK and looks like a thick bready crust (if you use your imagination a bit!).
Stinging nettle
The stinging nettle is a familiar and common plant, often firmly rooted in our memories after our first, hands-on experience - a prickling irritation that's not forgotten easily!
Lowland dry acid grassland
Sprinkled with diminutive, short-living flowers in spring and parched dry by July, this is a habitat of heathlands, coastal grasslands and ancient parkland.
Ashy mining bee
This black and grey solitary bee takes to the wing in spring, when it can be seen buzzing around burrows in open ground.
Ringed plover
The ringed plover is a small wader that nests around the coast, flooded gravel pits and reservoirs. It is similar to the little ringed plover, but is a little larger, has an orange bill and legs,…
Coastal cliffs and beaches
Look out for early spring wildlife and amazing coastal geology with arches, blow holes, coloured cliffs and beaches.
Cowslip
One of our most familiar spring flowers, the cowslip brightens up ancient meadows and woodlands with its egg-yolk-yellow, nodding blooms.
Yellow star-of-Bethlehem
The Yellow star-of-Bethlehem is a woodland plant that lives up to its name - it displays starry, gold flowers in an umbrella-like cluster in early spring.
Purging buckthorn
An uncommon hedgerow and woodland tree of central and eastern England, Purging buckthorn displays yellow-green flowers in spring, and poisonous, black berries in autumn.