My opening night
In the drama of the open spaces around her, Emily can play the role of a lifetime. She knows the wildlife of the nature reserve as intimately as Yorick knew Hamlet, and with an audience of birds,…
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Chwilio
Creeping thistle
Despite being considered a 'weed' of cultivated ground, the seeds of the Creeping thistle provide an important food source for farmland birds, many of which are declining rapidly.
Hobby
Look out for the swift-like shape of the hobby as it darts over heathlands and wetlands in summer. They are keen hunters, chasing and catching fast-flying dragonflies and small birds on the wing…
My social network
Jen doesn't need her phone to get connected - she can hear the tweeting of birds, see the flicker of sunlight in the reeds and share her interest in wildlife with like-minded people. All…
My soul food
For Dave, the mosslands are not only a place to watch and record birds, but evoke childhood memories of watching wildlife with his father. Only ten miles away from Greater Manchester, he’s always…
Common sexton beetle
The Common sexton beetle is one of several burying beetle species in the UK. An undertaker of the animal world, it buries dead animals like mice and birds, and feeds and breeds on the corpses.
Goldfinch
The striking red crown, golden back, and bright yellow wings of the goldfinch make it one of our prettiest garden birds. It happily visits birdtables and feeders across the UK.
Pochard
The once-common pochard is now under threat because its populations are declining rapidly. The UK is an important winter destination for the pochard, with 48,000 birds visiting our wetlands and…
My daytime drama
Carol loves watching the rituals of the birds at Rutland Water, especially at the feeding station that she helps to maintain as a volunteer. She loves to lose herself in her own personal episode…
Honeysuckle
A true wildlife 'hotel', Honeysuckle is a climbing plant that caters for all kinds of wildlife: it provides nectar for insects, prey for bats, nest sites for birds and food for small…
Common scoter
The common scoter has suffered large declines in the UK, threatening its survival here. Look out for this duck feeding at sea in winter when its numbers are bolstered by migrating birds.
Cuckoo
Considered to be an early sign of spring, the song of the cuckoo sounds the same as its name: ‘cuck-oo’. It can be heard in woodlands and grasslands. Cuckoos famously lay their eggs in the nests…