Hedgehogs are abundant in urban and suburban areas and can frequently be found in gardens, as these provide safe, accessible spaces for them to forage and rear their young. They are most active between April and September with the main mating season occurring between May and June. Female hedgehogs give birth during June and July, although some will go on to produce a second litter later in the summer. All of this means that now is a great time to look for hedgehogs – and if you’re taking part in the Wildlife Trusts’ 30 Days Wild Challenge, then this will also contribute to your month of wild activities.
If you’re lucky enough to have hedgehogs in your garden, why not take the time to record their behaviours for Hedgehogs After Dark. This project, organised by Hedgehog Street, aims to learn more about the ways in which hedgehogs are using our gardens and the behaviours that they are showing through the spring and summer. Until Sunday 26th July you can submit your observations to their website and have the chance of winning an exclusive hedgehog hamper in their prize draw. Visit their website for lots of information about the different behaviours they are interested in and how to submit your findings (you will need to register as a Hedgehog Champion to do this).
Keep reading for some top tips on making your garden attractive to hedgehogs and how to watch them, either with or without a trail camera.
Is your garden hedgehog friendly?
There are several things that you can do to make your garden more attractive to hedgehogs:
• Improve access – Gardens are only useful for hedgehogs if they can access them. Plus, hedgehogs move long distances throughout the night to find enough food, so creating networks of gardens that they can move between is important. By cutting a 13cm diameter hole in the bottom of a fence or removing a brick from the base of a wall, you can help to provide access and link your garden with surrounding ones.
• Provide shelter – Try to keep some areas of your garden wild and overgrown, as this will provide secure nesting and feeding spaces. An artificial hedgehog home will also provide a safe and warm space for hedgehogs to overwinter and for a female to birth and raise her young in the spring and summer. Try not to use pesticides or slug pellets in the garden, as these are poisonous to other animals as well as slugs.
• Provide food – Make sure that there are lots of worms, beetles and earwigs in your garden by growing wildflowers and providing log piles. Leaving areas of the garden which are overgrown or making a small wildlife pond will also help to encourage a diverse range of invertebrates. (Make sure your pond has sloping sides or piles of rocks to allow any animals to escape.) You could also provide a shallow dish of fresh water along with good quality hedgehog food, meaty dog or cat food, or dry cat biscuits.
Tips for watching hedgehogs
Hedgehogs are nocturnal, so the best time to watch them is during late evening. Throughout the night they can travel up to 2km searching for food and/or mates. (This great video shows radio-tracked hedgehogs moving between gardens in a suburban area of Brighton). If you have a suitable window looking out onto your garden, then you can watch them from the warmth of your home. Make sure that you turn any inside lights off and keep noise to a minimum. If there is no illumination from street lights, visibility will be best at twilight (before complete dark) and around the time of the full moon (provided it isn’t too cloudy).
If you can’t watch the garden from a window, then wrap up warm, get into stealth-mode and venture outdoors. As with any wildlife-watching endeavour, the most important thing is to be still and quiet. It might also help if you can get low to the ground which will provide a hedgehog-level view of their activities. Don’t be tempted to try to get too close to them, however, and never attempt to pick them up or interfere with their natural movements.
Using a trail camera to watch hedgehogs
One of the best ways to view the hedgehogs in your garden is using a trail camera. If you’re lucky enough to own one of these, then setting it up to record at night is a great way to see if any hedgehogs are around and, if so, what they’re getting up to. Here are some tips to maximise your chance of getting great footage:
• When siting your camera, think about where the hedgehogs are likely to be moving around. If you have a hole cut in your fence and you know that hedgehogs are using it to access your garden, then you might want to point your camera towards this. Similarly, if you have provided any food or water, then setting your camera up near to this is a great way to capture footage of them feeding.
• Position your camera low to the ground. Think about the size of the hedgehog and where it is most likely to trigger the infrared beam.
• Set your camera to the highest sensitivity setting. If you find that it is triggering far too much, particularly in the absence of any animals, then you can always reduce this later.
• As you’ll be recording hedgehogs mostly in darkness, having a camera with invisible night vision LEDs could be a bonus, as these will not startle the animals. Plus, models with adjustable night-time illumination (or which adjust automatically) will give you the most control over your image quality.
[The Browning Strike Force HD Pro X is one of our bestselling trail cameras for hedgehog watching and is used by lots of great projects, such as London Hogwatch. For more information or advice about trail cameras, please get in touch with us and chat with one of our experienced ecologists.]
No hedgehogs?
Maybe you don’t have a garden, or you have one but haven’t seen any hedgehogs using it. You can still view lots of great hedgehog videos on the Hedgehog Street YouTube channel. Or, if you use Facebook, why not watch this talk by ecologist and hedgehog fan Hugh Warwick, recorded for the Summer Solstice ‘Wonderland’ Festival this spring.
An all-encompassing study of the hedgehog and its habitat, shedding new light on conservation efforts crucial to the survival of this charming creature.
Trees are a vital part of our ecosystems and essential to all life. As well as providing homes and food for a wide range of wildlife, they also provide us with oxygen and clean air, and they help to conserve water and stabilise the surrounding soil. As such, trees are invaluable both to our environment and for human well-being.
In the UK there are more than 60 native tree species, each with its own distinctive features that can help with identification. In this blog we will focus on ten of our most common native trees and provide you with the key characteristics you need to look out for – soon you’ll be confident in recognising oak from elder and silver birch from ash.
How to identify a tree:
The best time to identify a tree is when it is in leaf. By looking at the size and shape of the leaves/needles, the structure of the bark, and any other features present such as seeds, berries or flowers, you have a great chance of working out what the species is. It can be a bit more tricky if you’re looking in winter when the tree is bare, but there are several good books that will help you out (take a look at our recommended reading list at the bottom of this post for our top suggestions).
Ten common British trees and how to identify them:
1. Pedunculate oak (Quercus robur)
Oak by Gedomaru via Flickr
Where to find: Also known as common or English oak, this ancient tree is one of Britain’s most iconic species, standing tall for hundreds of years. It can be found across the country in both urban and rural areas. (Not to be confused with the sessile oak which is our other native species of oak – see below for tips on distinguishing between the two).
How to identify: The pedunculate oak is a large deciduous tree growing up to 40m tall. It has grey bark when young which becomes darker brown and develops long vertical fissures as it ages. Leaves have familiar deep-lobed margins with smooth edges. Acorns hang from the tree on long stalks.
Pedunculate oak leaves have smooth-lobed edges and acorns grow singly at the end of long stems. Image via Wikimedia Commons.
Look out for: If you aren’t sure whether you’re looking at a pedunculate oak or a sessile oak, there are a couple of things you can check for. Pedunculate oak leaves have quite a short stem and more pronounced lobes at the bottom of the leaf. Acorns grow singly at the end of a long stem. Sessile oak leaves have a shorter stem and do not have lobes near the stem. Their acorns grow in clusters that are attached directly to the outer twigs.
2. Ash (Fraxinusexcelsior)
Ash tree by David Radcliffe via Flickr
Where to find: Ash is a common, widespread tree often found among British hedgerows and in many mixed deciduous woods in the UK.
How to identify:Ash grows up to a height of 30–40m. The bark is pale brown and fissures as the tree ages. Leaves are pinnately compound, usually comprising three to six opposite pairs of light green, oval leaflets. The buds are a sooty black with upturned grey shoots.
Ash leaves showing a small black bud at the base. Image via Wikimedia Commons.
Look out for: Sadly, ash is also identified by a serious disease called ash dieback (or chalara) that is a substantial threat to the species. The fungus appears as black blotches on the leaves and affected trees usually die within a couple of years.
3. Common Lime (Tilia x europaea)
Lime tree by louis.quinzexv via Flickr
Where to find: The sweet smelling lime is native to much of Europe. Although rare in the wild, it is commonly found in parks and along residential streets.
How to identify: Common lime is a tall, broadleaf tree with dark green heart-shaped leaves which are are mostly hairless, except for cream or white hairs on the underside of the leaf between the joints of the veins. It is known for its sweet smelling white-yellow flowers, that hang in clusters of two to five and that develop into round, oval fruits with pointed tips.
Lime leaves are heart shaped and delicate. Image via Wikimedia Commons.
Look out for: The common lime can be distinguished from other lime varieties by the tufts of white hair at the end of its twigs (in small-leaved lime hairs are red, and large-leaved lime has them all over the underside).
4. Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna)
Hawthorn by David Lee via Flickr
Where to find: An ancient tree steeped in mythology and folklore, hawthorn is most commonly found growing in hedgerows, woodland and scrub.
How to identify: Hawthorn has dense, thorny foliage and, if left to fully mature, can grow to a height of 15m. The shiny lobed leaves are among the first to appear in spring. It’s five-petalled flowers are white or pink and grow in flat topped clusters. In autumn and winter, trees are covered in deep red fruits known as haws.
Hawthorn flowers have five petals and are white or pale pink. Image via Wikimedia Commons.
Look out for: This species often hybridises with the UK’s other native hawthorn, Midland hawthorn (Crataegus laevigata). They look very similar and can be hard to tell apart.
5. Hazel (Corylus avellana)
Hazel by Stoutcob via Flickr
Where to find: Used regularly for coppicing, hazel can be found in a range of habitats, including woodlands, gardens and grasslands.
How to identify: A small shrubby tree with smooth, grey-brown bark, hazel can reach up to 12m in height if left uncoppiced. Its leaves are oval, toothed, and have soft hairs on their underside. In late winter, before the leaves have grown, it produces long yellow catkins that hang in clusters. These later develop into hazelnuts.
Hazel produces long yellow catkins which hang in small clusters. Image via Wikimedia Commons.
Look out for: Easily confused with English elm, they can be distinguished by the shape and feel of the leaves. Elm leaves have an asymmetric base and have rough feeling hairs. Hazel leaves are symmetrical at the base and feel soft and downy.
6. Common Alder (Alnus glutinosa)
Alder via Flickr
Where to find: Common alder enjoys moist ground and so can be found along riversides, fens and wet woodlands, often providing shelter to fish. Interestingly, alder wood does not rot when it becomes wet, but instead becomes stronger and harder.
How to identify: Alder is a deciduous tree that grows to 25m. It is broadly conical in shape, and the bark is dark and fissured. Leaves are racquet-shaped and tough. Female catkins are present on the tree all year round and look like small green or brown cones. Male catkins also appear on the same tree and are longer and thinner. Alder can also be recognised by its purple buds and purple twigs with orange markings in winter.
Female catkins become woody and cone-like towards the winter when they open up to release their seeds. Image via Wikimedia Commons.
Look out for: Can be confused with hazel – they can be told apart by the appearance of the leaves which are shiny and leathery in comparison to the soft downy leaves of the hazel.
7. Holly (Ilex aquifolium)
Holly by Douglas Cox via Flickr
Where to find: A favourite in Christmas decorations, holly is widespread and found commonly in woodland, scrub and hedgerows.
How to identify: This easy-to-recognise evergreen tree has smooth bark with small warts and dark brown stems. Its shiny, leathery leaves usually have prickles along the edges, but can also be smooth in older trees. It can grow up to 15m in height and produces scarlet berries that remain on the plant throughout the winter.
Holly leaves on younger trees have sharp prickles around the edge of their tough, leathery leaves. Image via Wikimedia Commons.
Look out for: Although holly leaves usually have prickles, those on older trees or that are on the upper parts of the plant often have smoother edges.
Where to find: The weeping, romantic willow can be spotted growing in wet ground, often along riverbanks and around lakes where it trails its branches into the water.
How to identify:White willow is a the largest species of willow in the UK, growing up to 25m with an irregular, leaning crown. Its foliage appears silvery due to its pale, oval leaves that carry silky, white hairs on the underside. In early spring look out for its long yellow catkins and in winter try to spot the green-yellow narrow buds that grow close to the twig.
White willow leaves appear silvery due to the downy hairs on the underside. Image via Wikimedia Commons.
Look out for: There are several species of willow in the UK, including white willow, grey willow, weeping willow, goat willow and crack willow. These often hybridise in the wild.
9. Silver Birch (Betula pendula)
Silver Birch by Jan Roles via Flickr
Where to find: A pioneer species, silver birch is a popular garden tree, and thrives in moorlands, heathland and dry and sandy soils.
How to identify: Silver birch can be easily recognised by its silver, papery bark which sheds like tissue paper. It has drooping branches and can reach 30m in height. Leaves are triangular-shaped with toothed edges and grow from hairless leaf stalks. In spring, flowers appear as yellow-brown catkins that hang in groups. Once pollinated, female catkins thicken and darken to a crimson colour.
Birch catkins are often described as ‘lambs tails’. Image via Wikimedia Commons.
Look out for: Silver birch is monoecious, meaning that both male and female catkins are found on the same tree. In April and May, try to distinguish the long yellow-brown male catkins from the short, erect green females ones.
10. Elder (Sambucus nigra)
Elder by Rüdiger Heiß via Flickr
Where to find: Historically known for its magical properties and hugely favoured by foragers, elder appears in hedges, scrub, woodland, waste and cultivated ground.
How to identify:Elder can grow to around 15m and has a short, greyish-brown trunk that develops deep creases as it ages. It has compound leaves; each leaf divided into five to seven leaflets. In summer, elder is recognised by its creamy, sweet-smelling white flowers that hang in sprays. In the autumn these develop into bunches of deep, purple berries.
In the spring the elder tree features sprays of fragrant white flowers. Image via Wikimedia Commons.
Look out for: In winter, elder twigs are green and have an unpleasant smell. They have a white soft pith inside.
Recommended reading and guides:
Collins Tree Guide: The Most Complete Field Guide to the Trees of Britain and Europe
An essential, definitive guide to the trees of Britain and non-Mediterranean Europe. Containing some of the finest original tree illustrations ever produced, this is one of the most important tree guides to have appeared in the last 20 years.
The Tree Name Trail: A Key to Common Trees
This 12-page laminated fold-out chart contains a full-colour illustrated key to the leaves, twigs, fruits and seeds of the commonest broadleaved and coniferous trees of Britain and Ireland.
Tree-Spotting: A Simple Guide to Britain’s Trees
A beautiful and captivating insight into the wonderful world of trees, Tree-Spotting burrows down into the history and hidden secrets of each species. It explores how our relationship with trees can be very personal, and hopes to bring you closer to the natural world around you.
RSPB First Book of Trees
Through beautiful full-page illustrations accompanied by key information about each tree, the First Book of Trees is designed to encourage young children’s interest in the outside world and the trees they encounter during their adventures.
Tree Story: The History of the World Written in Trees
A dendrochronological delight, the beautifully written and illustrated Tree Story reveals the utterly fascinating world of tree-ring research and how it matters to archaeology, palaeoclimatology and environmental history.
Winter Trees: A Photographic Guide to Common Trees and Shrubs
This AIDGAP guide covers 36 of the common broad-leaved deciduous species, or groups of species, that are most likely to be found in the UK, as well as a few rarer trees. It provides all the information you need to begin identifying trees in winter from their buds, bark, size and habitat.
Identification of Trees and Shrubs in Winter using Buds and Twigs
A practical guide to identifying trees and shrubs in winter. Comprehensive and easy to use, it contains over 700 species identifiable via their winter buds and twigs. The illustrated identification keys are easy to use, and a summary set of keys are provided as an appendix.
Small mammals are charismatic animals, but often elusive. They are rarely seen as more than a passing glimpse of a small scurrying creature. Although sadly often viewed as pests, small mammals are an important part of our ecosystems.
In this blog we will focus on some of the most common, native species of rodent and insectivore in the UK, providing key characteristics that will help you to identify them in the field.
Mice
There are four species of mice in the UK. All have relatively large eyes and ears and long scaly tails with little or no hair.
Identification: The wood mouse is a ‘stereotypical’ mouse in terms of appearance and has a chestnut-brown back and white belly. Long tail, large ears and big eyes. Moves quickly by hopping/jumping.
Size: 8-10cm with a very long tail of up to 10cm.
Habitat: Often found in woodland and fields but also common in a variety of other habitats. Generally the most often caught in small mammal surveys.
Identification: Grey–brown all over including the undersides.
Size: 7-9cm with a tail of up to 10cm.
Habitat: Commonly associated with houses, buildings and barns, although also found in the countryside. This species is one of the more commonly spotted due to its cohabitation with humans.
Identification: A very small mouse with golden fur and white undersides. Its long tail is prehensile and can be used as an extra ‘limb’ to hold onto vegetation as it climbs.
Size: The UK’s smallest rodent; roughly 5-7cm in length.
Habitat: Lives in long vegetation such as reed beds, marshes and roadside verges. Builds small, round nests made of intertwined grass stalks.
Did you know? The average adult harvest mouse weighs roughly the same as a two pence piece!
Identification: This species looks almost the same as the wood mouse in appearance, except that the yellow-brown colouration on its back continues around in a band across the neck.
Size: 9.5-12cm, very slightly larger than the wood mouse. Tail 8-12cm in length.
Habitat: Woodland, hedgerows and gardens; range is restricted mainly to southern Britain.
Voles
In comparison to mice, voles have much shorter and more rounded snouts. They also tend to have smaller ears and eyes in proportion to their body size. There are three species of vole native to mainland UK: two of these species – the bank and field vole – appear very similar and are easily confused.
Identification: Red-brown upper coat with a pale cream/grey underside. The bank vole’s tail is about half the length of its body. This is an important distinguishing factor for comparison with the field vole which has a proportionately shorter tail.
Size: 9-11cm, tail length 3-7cm.
Habitat: The bank vole is often found in hedgerows, heathland, grassland and woodland, as well as in more urban areas.
Identification: The fur of the field vole is more yellow-brown than the bank vole. It is often described as ‘cooler’ in colour. The underside is creamy-grey. Its tail is about a third of the length of its body (shorter proportionately when compared to the bank vole). For this reason it is also known as the short-tailed field vole.
Size: 9-12 cm in length (not including tail).
Habitat: Ungrazed grasslands and areas of tussock are the preferred habitat, although this adaptable mammal will find a home wherever grass is available.
Did you know? The field vole is estimated to be the most abundant mammal in the UK, although it is rarely seen. Look out for small round tunnels in areas of long grass. You may even find a ‘lawn’ at the entrance with shortened grass and piles of grass cuttings.
Identification: Dark brown fur and a hairy tail which is about half the length of the head and body. Characteristic bright yellow teeth.
Size: Up to 22cm in length excluding the tail. Roughly rat-sized (double the size of the field and bank voles).
Habitat: As the name suggests, this vole spends much of its life in the water. They live in burrows alongside river canals and are most often spotted swimming.
Did you know? When startled, water voles dive into the water making a characteristic ‘plop’ sound. So, be sure to keep an ear out when walking alongside rivers.
Shrews
There are four species of shrew native to the UK, although only three are found on the mainland. The other – the greater white-toothed shrew – is found only on islands such as Guernsey, Alderney and Herm.
Shrews tend to be smaller than most other species of small mammal found in the UK, and have a distinctive long pointed snout and very small eyes and ears.
Identification: Fur is three-toned, transitioning from dark brown on the back to paler brown to white on its undersides. The common shrew has a tail which is roughly half the length of the body; this is shorter, proportionally, than that of the pygmy shrew.
Size: 4-8cm in length, tail 2.5-4.5cm.
Habitat Widespread across a variety of habitats including gardens, hedgerows, grassland and woodland.
Did you know? Common shrews have a very high metabolism and must eat every 2-3 hours in order to survive.
Identification Two-toned fur going from a grey-brown upper to an off-white belly. The pygmy shrew has a longer and wider tail in proportion to its body when compared with the common shrew; roughly two-thirds of its body length.
Size: 4-6cm in length, tail 3-5cm.
Habitat: Widespread across a variety of habitats including hedgerows, grassland and woodland.
Water Shrew – Neomys fodiens
Water shrew by Ulrike & Jörg via Flickr
Identification: Black/dark brown fur on top, with a very contrasting pale grey underside. Often have little silver ear tufts and white hairs around the eyes.
Size: 6-10cm, the UK’s largest shrew species. Tail 4.5-7.5cm.
Habitat: Usually found near streams and wetlands. If you see a shrew swimming, it is most likely this species! They even swim underwater to hunt for prey.
Did you know? The water shrew is a venomous mammal. Its saliva can paralyse even larger prey such as frogs and newts.
Identification: Golden fur, big ears and eyes. The most characteristic feature is their incredibly fluffy tail. This means that they are sometimes mistaken for a young squirrel.
Size: 6-9cm, tail 5.5-7cm.
Habitat: Dormice are arboreal, meaning that they spend most of their lives in trees, although they return to the ground to hibernate during winter. Despite their name, hazel trees are not a habitat requirement – although they are often preferred. Found in coniferous, deciduous and mixed woodland.
Did you know? The hazel dormouse is not technically a true mouse. They are related to both mice and squirrels but are classified in their own separate family.
Provides a solid grounding in mammal identification skills. Includes excellent illustrations of mammals, their tracks and signs and also discusses survey methods using the latest techniques and technologies.
Live Trapping Small Mammals: A Practical Guide #248012
Provides practical advice on trapping small mammals.
Mammal Tracks of Europe: A Field Guide to the Tracks and Trails of European Mammals#264590
This essential field companion covers the tracks and trails of 72 European mammal species and includes detailed life-size drawings by the author.
This laminated pamphlet is produced by the Field Studies Council and contains images of all of Britain’s land-based mammals. Provides a useful overview and aid to identification.
A Guide to British Mammal Tracks and Signs #128853
This Field Studies Council guide is the perfect solution to identifying the presence of mammals from their tracks and signs. Footprints, dropping and feeding remains are all included in this helpful laminated pamphlet.
The hours around sunset are the best time to see and hear bats. Image by O Haines.
Looking for some inspiration for activities during 30 Days Wild? Why not take a stroll around sunset and see if you can find some bats. If you have a bat detector then you can also listen to the ultrasound calls they produce and have a go at working out which species you’re seeing and hearing. Plus, an evening walk also gives you a chance to see what other nocturnal animals are out and about – owls, foxes, badgers and toads are all more active at night and, if you’re lucky and in the right place, you might also be fortunate enough to hear a Nightjar.
What you need:
The Echo Meter Touch 2 connects directly to your phone or tablet.
• Bat detector – For beginners, a heterodyne detector is a great choice as they are economical and easy to use. Simply tune it to the frequency that you want to hear and then listen through the speaker or with a pair of headphones. If you want something a little more advanced, the Echo Meter Touch 2 connects directly to your phone and lets you view and record the bat calls, as well as suggesting the most likely species that you’re listening to. (If you don’t have a bat detector, you can still go for a walk at dusk and look for bats flitting beneath the trees and across the surface of the water). • Torch – Not for seeing the bats but for finding your way safely in the dark!• Warm clothing and sensible footwear – Make sure you have enough warm clothes for when the temperature drops after sunset, and footwear that’s suitable for the chosen terrain. A thermos with a hot drink is also a good idea! • Guide to bat frequencies – If you’re less familiar with bat detecting then a list of the frequencies at which you are most likely to receive the strongest signal for each species is a good thing to have with you. This simple pdf can be printed out to carry with you, or why not take a look atthis guide from the Bedfordshire Bat Group for more detailed information on identifying bats using a heterodyne detector. The FSC Guide to British Bats is also a good choice and provides lots of information on identifying bats in flight.
When to go:
Bats are most active from April to September and the best time of day for seeing and hearing them is around sunset. If you’re walking to a location where you will be using your bat detector or hoping to see bats, then make sure you set off with plenty of time to get there before the sun sets. And don’t forget your torch – even though it will be light when you set out, you’re likely to need it on the way home.
Where to go:
Woodlands, parks and gardens are all good spots to look for bats. Image by O Haines.
Parks and woodland, especially those with aquatic areas such as ponds and lakes, are great places to find bats. If you can find a walk that covers a variety of habitat types then this will increase your chances of seeing/hearing more than one species. Make sure that the route you choose is safe and accessible and that you know where you’re going – places can look very different at night than they do in the day and it’s easy to lose your sense of direction if you’re not on a clearly marked path.
If you don’t want to venture far from home, then you can also look and listen out for bats in your garden. Near hedges or trees is usually a good place to focus your attention.
What to do:
The Magenta Bat 5 is ideal for bat walks
Once sunset is approaching, simply turn your bat detector on, keep as quiet as you can and watch and listen for any bats. The earliest species to emerge tend to be the pipistrelles and noctules. Of these, common and soprano pipistrelles are the most frequently seen. For this reason, it is worth setting your detector to 45 or 55kHz (or switching between the two periodically) to see if you can pick up any sounds. If you can see bats flying but don’t hear any sounds at these frequencies, then try scanning through all frequencies slowly to see which produces the most significant and clear response.
Daubenton’s bat. Image (a).
If you are near water and see bats skimming the surface, then these are likely to be Daubenton’s bats. As with the common pipistrelle, Daubenton’s bats produce the strongest echolocation signal at around 45kHz. (They also tend to emerge later than pipistrelles, so you may have to wait until later in the evening to catch a glimpse of these!).
Once you become used to using your detector, you will become accustomed to the different types of noises produced by different species and, in combination with where and how the bats are flying, will become more confident in deciding which species you are looking at and listening to.
Find out more:
If you want to find out more about bats, the Bat Conservation Trust website is a great resource and offersinformation on all 18 species of bat found in the UK. They also provide a list of local bat groups and coordinate the National Bat Monitoring Programme. Surveys cater to different levels of experience and knowledge and are fun and rewarding to carry out. Some don’t require any equipment, so you can take part even if you don’t own a bat detector.
Head over to nhbs.com for our complete range of bat detectors and take a look at our blog post for more tips for beginners.
The RSPB website is a great place to hear common bird songs and will help you to distinguish between different types of owls. The most common species you are likely to come across are Barn Owls and Tawny Owls. You can also hear an example of a Nightjar call on the website.
This fold-out guide includes 16 species of bats that live and breed in Britain and has two parts: a guide to identifying bats in flight using bat detectors, flight patterns, size, habitat and emergence time after dusk; and a key labelling the different body parts of a bat for identifying them in the hand.
This book takes the reader through both the theoretical and practical aspects of the use of the bat detector and covers all aspects of bat identification in the field, including `jizz’, flight style, foraging behaviour, roost finding, echolocation, and basic survey technique. As each topic is explained, references are given to the relevant tracks on the CD.
Covers topics such as the properties of sound; how bats use sound; bat detection methods; recording devices; analysis software; recording techniques and call analysis. For each species found in the British Isles, information is given on distribution; emergence times; flight and foraging behaviour; habitat; and echolocation.
Image credits:
(a) n51_w1150 from the Biodiversity Heritage Library via Flickr
Butterflies are an iconic and popular sight during the spring and summer months. They are also important indicators of a healthy ecosystem and provide valuable environmental benefits such as pest control and pollination. As food for birds, bats and other mammals they are a vital part of the food chain and have been used for centuries by scientists to investigate navigation, pest control and evolution, as well as countless other subjects.
In the UK there are currently 57 resident species of butterfly and two regular migrants. Of these, it is estimated that 76% have declined in abundance, occurrence or both over the past 40 years. Almost all of these losses can be attributed to man-made changes such as habitat destruction and pollution, along with larger patterns of weather and climate change.
Recording and monitoring butterflies is a vital step in ensuring their conservation. Contributing to citizen science projects such as Butterfly Conservation’s Butterflies for the New Millenium, the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme, or via the iRecord app are vital to gain a picture of how our butterflies are faring. Although at this time it is not possible to travel to survey and record butterflies, sightings within your garden or on your own land, as well as those spotted on local walks, still provide a valuable source of data. (Please read the most recent Covid-19 statements on each of these websites before undertaking any surveys.)
In this article we have compiled a short guide on which butterflies you are likely to see outside this spring/summer, as well as some tips on the features by which you can distinguish certain species.
Gardens
For many butterflies we need look no further than our back gardens. In the UK many generalist species of butterflies survive and thrive in the network of gardens that stretch out across the country. These species are drawn in by the bountiful supply of nectar offered by flowering plants such as Buddleia, which are seldom without a visiting Red Admiral or Peacock. Gardens with unmanaged patches are even more favourable, as these can provide larval host plants such as thistles and nettles, the latter of which are used by four different butterfly species.
LOOK OUT FOR:
1. Large White: Large and often found near brassicas and nasturtiums
2. Small Tortoiseshell: Medium-sized, often bask in open sunny spots
3. Red Admiral: Large and territorial with unique black and red colours
4. Painted Lady: Large fast flyers with very angular wings 5. Small White: Medium-sized with yellowish under-wings, eat brassicas
6. Peacock: Large, dark butterfly with distinct eyespots on its wings
Grasslands, Parks and Fields
Grasslands are an incredibly valuable habitat for many of the UK’s moths and butterflies. Semi-natural grassland, pasture, arable land, urban parkland and any areas with rough unmanaged grass will all support a variety of butterfly species. In the height of summer these areas can be teeming with Skippers, Common Blues, Ringlets and Meadow Browns. Be sure to inspect any flowering plants (particularly thistles and knapweeds) as these can act as vital nectaring points for many butterflies. Pay close attention for the fast and subtle movements of smaller species as these can often disappear against such a busy environment. A prime example of this is the Small Copper which is notoriously hard to spot due to its minute size, fast flight and discrete colouration (when its wings are closed).
LOOK OUT FOR:
1. Meadow Brown: Very common, with dull orange patches on the wings 2. Green-veined White: Have a distinct green colour around the wing veins 3. Small Copper: Small and fast, has deep brown and bright orange wings
4. Common Blue: Small with a vivid blue colour and unbroken white border 5. Six-spot Burnet (moth): Has distinct pattern, often feed on Thistles 6. Ringlet: Common, wings can appear black and have distinct yellow rings 7. Marbled White: Large slow flyers with a unique chequered pattern
Hedgerows and Woodland-Edge
Edge habitats are well known for their butterfly diversity and abundance, housing many threatened and elusive species. There are a few species which you are likely to see in these areas, however, bear in mind that species such as the Brimstone, Speckled Wood and Gatekeeper can also occur in several other habitats. Sunny areas with flowering shrub such as Bramble are hotspots for activity, particularly for Gatekeepers. Holly Blues may be hard to spot as they are mostly arboreal, only descending to feed on flowering plants such as Ivy. Woodland interiors are unlikely to yield many butterflies, particularly those with little light and/or limited forest floor plants, however open sunny glades are worth visiting.
LOOK OUT FOR:
1. Brimstone: Large with a powdered yellow/green colour and slow flight
2. Comma: Large with a uniquely scalloped wing edge and fast flight 3. Gatekeeper: Small size, often found around hedges with bramble growing
4. Holly Blue: Very small, flying around tree tops, especially those with Ivy
5. Speckled Wood: Medium size, very territorial and regularly sun bask 6. Silver-Y (moth): Fast flying with a distinct silver ‘Y’ on the upper wing
Butterfly Conservation
Thanks to Butterfly Conservation for letting us use their images throughout this article. For more information on UK butterflies and how you can help them, please visit Butterfly Conservation.org. Here you will find a wealth of information to help you find and identify butterflies and moths.
Butterfly Field Guides
Guide to the Butterflies of Britain and Ireland #245262
The illustrations in this guide, from originals painted by Richard Lewington, show 58 British butterfly species. The paintings are a quick identification aid to the butterflies most likely to be seen and all are drawn to life size.
Pocket Guide to the Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland #245485
This handy pocket-sized book has become the essential guide to identifying the butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland. It contains over 600 superb illustrations of the life stages of each species, together with beautiful artworks of butterflies in their natural settings.
Butterflies of Britain and Europe: A Photographic Guide #245243
Packed with beautiful photography, this is the definitive guide to all 482 species of European butterflies (42 more species compared to the first edition) with additional information on over 60 species found in the far east of Europe, stretching as far as the Urals and Caucasus.
Collins Butterfly Guide #173624
This comprehensive guide describes and illustrates about 440 species, depicting both males and females and – where there is significant variation – subspecies. Distribution maps accompany every widespread species.
The Butterflies of Britain & Ireland #245487
Provides comprehensive coverage of all our resident and migratory butterflies, including the latest information on newly discovered species such as the Cryptic Wood White and the Geranium Bronze. The definitive book on the subject, it includes fully updated distribution maps.
Field Guide to the Caterpillars of Great Britain and Ireland #248267
This beautifully illustrated field guide covers caterpillars of the moth and butterfly species that are most likely to be encountered in the British Isles.
Germander speedwell (Veronica chamaedrys). Image by L Wilkes
Plants and fungi are not only beautiful and interesting to study, but they also provide the building blocks on which all of our other wildlife (and ourselves) depend. Monitoring their abundance and diversity is key to understanding the health of our habitats. Plus, there are numerous studies that suggest that being around plants has benefits for our mental wellbeing, including improved concentration and memory as well as a better overall mood.
Spring and early summer are the perfect time to study your local plants as many will be in flower at this time, making them much easier to identify. (For other times of the year, a guide such as the Vegetative Key to the British Flora is invaluable – but it may take a bit of practice. For beginners, we suggest starting during the flowering season).
In this article we’ve featured a number of wild flowers that you’re likely to find, either in your garden or when out walking. These are separated into Town and Country/Woodland, but bear in mind that there will be some overlap, so it’s worth looking at both lists. Chances are that you’ll also find a few species that aren’t included here – you can find lots more information on the Plantlife website, including ways to submit your findings to their records. Or why not check out one of our wild flower ID guides listed at the bottom of the post?
Town
Here you will find nine of the most common species that you’re likely to encounter in urban areas. Pay particular attention to parks, waste ground and walls, and don’t forget to check the pavement cracks too.
1. Daisy – Bellis Perennis Flowers March-October. Easily recognisable flower with a yellow centre and numerous white petals. Abundant in short grass such as parks and garden lawns.
2. Silverweed – Potentilla anserina Flowers May-August.
Common on bare or well-walked ground such as the sides of tracks. Easy to recognise due to the silver-white underside of leaves.
3. Bramble – Rubus fructicosus Flowers May-October. Very abundant on waste ground as well as on heaths and in hedgerows and woodland. Thorny shrub with white or pale pink flowers.
4. Scarlet Pimpernel – Anagallis arvensis Flowers April-October.
Commonly found in gardens as well as arable fields, dunes, cliffs and heathland. Low growing and sprawling. Flowers are red with a purplish base.
5. Rosebay Willowherb – Chamerion angustifolium Flowers June-September. Abundant on disturbed ground, verges and railways. Produces tall spires of purplish flowers. Often found in dense stands.
6. Ivy-Leaved Toadflax – Cymbalaria mularis Flowers May-September. Often found on old walls and in pavement cracks. A straggly plant with ivy-like leaves and small lilac flowers with a yellow spot.
7. Buddleia (Butterfly Bush) – Buddleja davidii Flowers June-October. Likes dry, disturbed places such as waste ground, railways, walls and roofs. Long sprays of purple, white or lilac flowers; a favourite of butterflies.
8. Feverfew – Tanacetum parthenium Flowers July-September. Found in walls, pavement cracks and on waste ground. Flowers similar to a daisy but with shorter, broader petals. Aromatic leaves.
9. White Clover – Trifolium repens Flowers May-September. Found in most types of grassland as well as on waste/disturbed ground. Globular clusters of flowers on long stalks; usually off-white or pale pink. The leaflets usually have a pale chevron shape near the base.
Country/Woodland
This list features nine species commonly found in the countryside and wooded areas. Hunt along the hedgerows and meadows as well as on river banks and in woodland clearings.
1. Cow Parsley – Anthriscus Sylvestris Flowers late April-June.
Extremely common during May on roadside verges and in woodland rides and clearings. White flowers radiate out from the stem on spokes. Fern-like leaves.
2. Germander speedwell – Veronica chamaedrys Flowers March-July.
Common in grass and roadside verges. Bright blue flower with a white eye on a sprawling stem. Leaves oval and toothed.
3. Meadowsweet –Filipendula ulmaria Flowers June-Sept.
Likes damp ground such as roadside ditches and wet woodland. Long stems with clusters of cream, fuzzy flowers which smell of honey or almonds.
4. Herb Robert – Geranium robertianum
Flowers April-October.
Likes banks, woods, gardens and walls. Purple flowers with lighter stripes on petals. Whole plant may sometimes turn red.
5. Bugle – Ajuga reptans
Flowers April-June.
Common in damp deciduous woodland and other shady places as well as unmanaged grassland. Forms long stems with rosettes of green-purplish leaves and blue flowers marked with white.
6. Red Campion – Silene dioica
Flowers April-October.
Likes hedgerows and woodland clearings. Five-petalled pink/red flowers on long stems with opposite leaves.
7. Greater Stitchwort – Stellaria holostea
Flowers late March-June.
Common in hedges and verges as well as in woodland. White flowers with five petals, split halfway to the base. Sprawling with narrow leaves.
This spring is destined to be a different and difficult one for most of us. Some things, however, remain the same – the leaves and buds on the trees are unfurling, the flowers are blooming, and the outside world is gearing up for a new year of growth and renewal. If you’re lucky enough to have a garden, then getting the children outside each day is a great way for them to burn off some energy and to get some fresh air and vitamin D.
With this in mind we have put together ten of our favourite garden activities, most of which are suitable for children (and adults) of all ages – although supervision may be required for the younger ones.
Learn about the insects and bugs in your garden
Insects and bugs are fascinating to children of all ages. As soon as the weather warms up in spring, the garden fills with the buzzing of flies, bees and wasps, whilst the soil teems with beetles, worms and other creepy crawlies. A butterfly or sweep net is ideal for catching flying insects and those in the long grass, while a pooter can be used to pick up tinier specimens. Or simply get down on the ground with a hand lens and see what you can find. There are lots of great field guides that will help you to identify your specimens. FSC guides, such as the Woodland Name Trail and Guide to the Butterflies of Britain and Ireland provide a great starting point. Or, for a more in-depth investigation, the Guide to Garden Wildlife covers not only insects and bugs, but also birds, mammals and amphibians. It also provides suggestions for some great nature-related activities.
Install a nest box (and watch the eggs hatch from the comfort of your home)
Image by gordon.milligan
It’s never too late to install a nest box. Even in late spring you may manage to entice a breeding pair of birds in time to lay a late clutch of eggs. At the very least, you will provide a useful winter roost space and the box will be ready for the breeding birds next year. You can even equip your nest box with a tiny camera which will allow you to watch all the nesting, rearing and fledging action from the comfort of your home. Kits are available which contain everything you need to get started; choose from wired, wireless or Wi-Fi options. See our blog post on nest box cameras for more information.
Learn to identify plants
Rummage around in the wilder parts of your garden and you’re likely to find a wide range of plants that your little ones can study and try to identify. Even in the most manicured of outdoor spaces, you’re sure to find some ‘weeds’ that will provide a useful starting place. This is a great way to learn about common and Latin names and to study the different parts of flowers. The Pocket Guide to Wildflower Families will help you to identify the family to which your flower belongs, and the Collins Wild Flower Guide is a beautifully illustrated guide for those wanting a more in-depth look.
Watch (and listen to) the birds
Image by Airwolfhound
Get to know the birds in your garden by installing a feeder. During the spring there should be plenty of wild food sources for them to use, but protein-rich foods such as black sunflower seeds, mealworm and high-quality seed mixes will provide a valuable addition to their diet. (Avoid feeding fat balls and peanuts at this time of year, as they can be harmful to young birds.) If you’re not sure what kind of bird you’re looking at, the RSPB website has a greatidentifier tool which includes information on 408 species found in the UK. Once you’ve identified your bird, the website also allows you to listen to its song, helping you to further improve your identification skills.
For a fun garden game, why not play bird bingo? Simply draw a 3×3 grid on a piece of paper, and write the name of a common garden bird in each square. Put a cross in the square when you spot the bird – the winner is the first to cross off all nine squares.
Grow something pretty or edible
If you have space, now is a great time to sow some seeds. Sunflowers and sweet peas provide a great splash of colour in the summer and will provide food for birds (sunflower heads) and pollinators (sweet peas). Peas and beans are both easy to grow in a small space and are happy in pots. Strawberries and bush varieties of tomatoes can be grown in hanging baskets.
Making seed bombs is another excellent activity to do with children and, when planted in the garden, will provide much needed flowers for pollinating insects.The Wildlife Trusts have a recipe that’s simple to make, along with a list of recommended flower seeds to include.
Be a weather watcher
Image by Paper of Light
In most temperate countries (and particularly in the UK), the weather is constantly changing, making it a fascinating thing to track and record. A weather diary is a great way to do this. You can include as much information as you like, or keep it simple with just pictures for the younger children. You could even make a weather board, where the day’s weather is displayed every day. Wind speed, temperature and humidity can be easily measured using an anemometer, and rainfall with a simple rain gauge. (For more economical options, use a large yoghurt container with measurements marked on the side as a rain gauge and a piece of lightweight fabric tied to a pole to track the direction of the wind).
Clouds are also endlessly interesting – learn about the different types withWeather WizKids which has lots of information and explains how they are formed, why they look the way they do and how we can use them to predict the weather. Why not also investigate some of the old-wives tales pertaining to the weather? For example, is it really true that ‘swallows high, staying dry; swallows low, wet will blow’, or ‘Red sky at night, shepherds’ delight, red sky in the morning, shepherds’ warning’?
Make a pond
Image by Alex Thomson
Recent surveys have shown that some amphibians, such as frogs, are now more common in garden ponds than they are in the wild. When planted with a variety of submerged and emergent plants, a pond will provide a complex environment with a variety of micro-habitats, and is also an attractive feature for the garden. Even in a small space it’s easy to use a bucket or other container to create a small aquatic environment which will provide valuable habitat for amphibians, insects and lots of other species. Take a look at theWildlife Trusts website for a step-by-step guide to making a garden pond (including a handy list of suitable aquatic plants) orthis RSPB page for advice on making a mini pond from an old washing-up bowl. Always ensure that younger children are supervised around water.
Weave with nature
Weaving with natural materials is a fun activity and a great choice for several reasons: it is cheap to do and the results, while temporarily beautiful, can be composted, making it the ultimate in sustainable art. To begin, make a simple frame from four twigs, held together at the corners with a small amount of natural twine. Wind more twine from side to side around the frame leaving gaps between each winding, and then repeat in the other direction. Collect a wide selection of leaves, twigs, weeds, flowers, feathers and grass and weave into your frame in a pattern of your choice. For the best results, try and include as many different colours and textures as possible. Hang your masterpiece inside or in the garden to enjoy until the colours fade, and then throw it on the compost heap or in your garden waste bin.
Eat some weeds
Did you know that lots of the weeds in your garden are actually edible? And what’s more, many contain higher amounts of trace elements like iron than their supermarket equivalents such as spinach and kale. Nettles are extremely common, very easy to identify, and can be made into a tasty soup (don’t worry, they lose their sting as soon as they are cooked). Similarly, dandelion leaves, fat hen, hairy bittercress and chickweed are prevalent in most gardens and can be used as salad greens. Children will love knowing that they have picked some of their meal for free, and that they are eating the garden weeds. If you’re unsure about what you’re picking, there are lots of helpful guides and images on the internet. Or you can invest in a book such as Food for Free, Foraging, or the compact and economical FSC’s Guide to Foraging.
Draw from nature
Image from the Biodiversity Heritage Library
Sketching from nature was once a vital part of the naturalist’s skill set. Accurate drawings of specimens, alive or dead, played a vital part in classifying and sharing information about new species. Although this process has largely been replaced by photography, the act of putting pencil to paper and studying a specimen closely enough to draw it accurately can provide an excellent opportunity to study its structure and finer details. Flowers, plants and feathers are ideal starting points as they won’t fly or scuttle away; but insects, birds and other animals can also be fun to try. Keep notes of when and where your drawings were made and, over time, they can form the basis of a wonderful nature journal.
During these troubling times, we hope you can find inspiration in nature and we wish you all the best of health.
Keeping up to date with the latest research is a key part of any career in science. However, the push for researchers to publish early in their career and at frequent intervals means that there is now a seemingly unconquerable body of literature available to sift through. Because of the time-consuming nature of reading, processing and assimilating all of this information, the unfortunately result is that many researchers only find time to read the “hot” papers that are well publicised, or they focus primarily on papers that are recent and well-cited.
The days of searching through library index cards are now a distant memory.
The advent of online journals also means that the days of physically searching for articles using paper records and traipsing around library stacks to locate a particular journal edition are a thing of the past. One result of this is that students and researchers who use the same or similar online search terms are likely to be directed to the same sub-set of papers, to the exclusion of other thematically similar but less relevant articles.
On the face of it, this may seem like a good thing, but it ignores the fact that methodological and conceptual insights are often to be found in papers which are not directly related to one’s own research; papers that would have been found more frequently when searching in a “bricks and mortar” library. It also means that older papers, which are still of importance for providing a good grounding in both methods and concepts, may be overlooked. By ignoring these older papers, the risk of repeating work that has already been undertaken or explored, is also higher.
With these concerns in mind, Franck Courchamp and Corey Bradshaw from the Université Paris-Saclay in France and Flinders University in Australia have taken it upon themselves to produce a list of the top 100 articles that every ecologist should read. Their key objective was to propose a list of seminal papers that, regardless of date of publication or specific subject area, would provide ecologists with a well-rounded understanding of ecology.
To create this list, they first assembled a long-list of 544 paper which were nominated by a group of 147 ecology journal editorial members; individuals that were recognised as experts in their field and who have an excellent knowledge of publications in their subject area. This list was then ranked via random-sample voting by 368 ecology experts and the top 100 papers collated into a comprehensive and varied reading list.
A century and a half after its publication, Darwin’s paper on natural selection remains a key ecology text.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the number one paper on the list was Darwin and Wallace putting forth their theory of natural selection. Published in 1858, this entry also represents the oldest paper on the list. More surprising was the average age of the top-ranked papers, with a huge number of them being from the 1960s and 1970s whilst very few were included from the 21st century. Most of the papers were not published in journals with a particularly high impact factor and, in many cases, they did not receive an unduly high number of citations, indicating that citation-based selections are not always the most appropriate when selecting papers for background reading.
The final list provides ecologists with an excellent starting point for establishing a well-rounded understanding of basic ecological theories. Whether you’re an early-career scientist, a well-established researcher or even a keen amateur with an enquiring mind, there is plenty here to expand your knowledge.
The list of 100 papers, together with a description of the methods and discussion of the subject, is published in Nature Ecology and Evolution and is available to view online.
• Improve access – Gardens are only useful for hedgehogs if they can access them. Plus, hedgehogs move long distances throughout the night to find enough food, so creating networks of gardens that they can move between is important. By cutting a 13cm diameter hole in the bottom of a fence or removing a brick from the base of a wall, you can help to provide access and link your garden with surrounding ones.
