Wildlife gardening
Our own back gardens are often the place where we encounter wildlife most regularly. Whether it's digging up worms or feeding the birds, we all benefit from being out in a garden and wildlife too can thrive in these little havens.
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Chwilio
How to help wildlife at school
Whether feeding the birds, or sowing a wildflower patch, setting up wildlife areas in your school makes for happier, healthier and more creative children.
Black-and-yellow longhorn beetle
This brightly-coloured beetle is often found feeding on flowers on warm days in late spring and summer.
Little stint
This tiny wading bird is most often seen in autumn, feeding on the muddy margins of wetlands.
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…
Brown hairstreak
The brown hairstreak is an elusive butterfly that spends much of its time in the treetops feeding on aphid honeydew.
Jack snipe
This well-camouflaged wader is a winter visitor to the UK, where it can be seen feeding on wetlands with a distinctive bobbing motion.
White admiral
The White admiral is a striking black-and-white butterfly with a delicate flight that includes long glides. It prefers shady woodlands where it feeds on Bramble.
Spiked shieldbug
The spiked shieldbug has fearsome shoulder projections or 'spikes' and a predatory nature. This brown bug feeds on caterpillars and other insects in woodlands and on heathlands.
Dipper
The chocolate-brown, plump dipper can often be seen bobbing up and down on a stone in a fast-flowing river. It feeds on underwater insects by walking straight into, and under, the water.
Migrant hawker
The Migrant hawker is not a particularly aggressive species, and may be seen feeding in large groups. It flies late into autumn and can be seen in gardens, grasslands and woodlands.
Hawthorn shieldbug
Our largest shieldbug, the red-and-green hawthorn shieldbug can be seen in gardens, parks and woodlands, feeding on hawthorn, rowan and whitebeam. The adults hibernate over winter.