Dwarf thistle
As its name suggests, the Dwarf thistle is a low-growing plant that is almost stemless - its purple, thistle-like flower heads growing out of a rosette of spiny leaves.
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Water vole by Terry Whittaker/2020VISION
Chwilio
Wacky mammals
Mammals are a class of animal. They are warm-blooded and have fur and hair. They can also be a bit wacky! Here's our top examples of weird mammal behaviour!
Common toadflax
Look for common toadflax on waste ground and grassland, and along roadside verges and hedgerows. Its yellow-and-orange flowers are tightly packed on a tall spike and have distinctive 'spurs…
Swift
Swifts spend most of their lives flying – even sleeping, eating and drinking – only ever landing to nest. They like to nest in older buildings in small holes in roof spaces.
Greater plantain
Pushing its way up through the cracks in pavements, the straw-coloured flower spikes of greater plantain or 'broadleaf plantain' are a familiar sight. This 'weed' also pops up…
Pike
Famously predatory, the long, slender pike will lurk among the vegetation of a river or lake, bursting out with ferocious speed to catch its prey. Look out for it across the UK.
My future
Charlotte is spending her placement year from the University of Cardiff with Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust learning valuable surveying and monitoring techniques that she can add to her CV and…
Pink-footed goose
The pink-footed goose is a winter visitor to the UK, feeding on our wetland and farmland habitats. About 360,000 individuals spend the winter here, making it a really important destination for…
My legacy
Kati wants her grandchildren to inherit a county that is rich in wildlife. That’s why she has left a legacy to Surrey Wildlife Trust
to help protect the countryside for Oliver and Harry.
My secret garden
Rowan loves the fresh smell and sight of the buttercups in the wildflower meadows at Besthorpe. It's a special place because there are precious few spots like this where she can spend time…
My vocation
Always fascinated by wildlife, Sophie has pursued a career in nature conservation through formal education and traineeships.
She now works as an ecologist, working to conserve Herefordshire’…
Common juniper
A sprawling, spiny evergreen, Common juniper is famous for its traditional role in gin-making. Once common on downland, moorland and coastal heathland, it is now much rarer due to habitat loss.…