WonderfulWildlifeUK

In a new series of articles, we’ll be taking a look at the best places to watch wildlife in  North East England. By no means comprehensive but hopefully informative, these posts are intended to provide inspiration on where to visit in the North East to observe and enjoy nature, as well as detailing some of […] from James Common https://commonbynature.co.uk/2020/07/30/where-to-watch-wildlife-in-the-north-east-silverlink-biodiversity-park/

I have visited the Holy Island of Lindisfarne many times to admire the sites birdlife, chase rarities and even seek out insects, but never to appreciate it’s diverse and interesting flora. Lindisfarne is well known as an excellent site for those interested in botany, it’s unspoilt beaches, sprawling dune slacks, fields and expansive areas of […] from James Common https://commonbynature.co.uk/2020/07/12/exploring-the-fascinating-flora-of-lindisfarne/

A Special Site of Scientific Interest (SSSI) and Durham Wildlife Trust nature reserve encompassing a disused magnesian limestone quarry, I have read about Bishop Middleham Quarry for years. People, it seems, visit the site from far and wide to experience the fantastic flora on offer here. As well as for an abundance of colourful insects. […] from James Common https://commonbynature.co.uk/2020/07/05/wonderful-wildflowers-at-bishop-middleham-quarry/

The Essex Wildlife Trust’s Pound Wood, like so many ancient woods, is a special place and for different reasons.  It is special for being somewhere for the people of this busy and built-up part of Essex to establish, or indeed re-establish those close and valuable connections with the natural world, something so important, not only […] from James Common https://commonbynature.co.uk/2020/06/26/the-pound-wood-fritillary-site-a-place-for-butterflies-and-a-great-deal-more-by-ross-gardner/

Owing to a diverse mosaic of habitats, including plentiful dead wood, Gosforth Nature Reserve is a fantastic place at which to indulge a fascination for the North East’s smaller wildlife. This Rhinocerous Beetle (Sinodendron cylindricum) was, without doubt, the star of the show last week. A first for me, this glossy, cylindrical beetle (a male) […] from James Common https://commonbynature.co.uk/2020/06/26/eye-catching-invertebrates-at-gosforth-nature-reserve/

Few wildflowers capture the imagination quite like our orchids. They’re beautiful, of course, but also sufficiently scarce to provide a little jolt of excitement whenever you happen across one. They are also the only group of plants – to the best of my knowledge – that manages to unite all natural history enthusiasts, whether they […] from James Common https://commonbynature.co.uk/2020/06/21/chasing-urban-orchids/

A couple of weeks ago, I walked part of the North Downs Way with a friend. Not a particularly unusual event, normally, but many of us have had rapidly to adjust our expectations of normal over the past months. I had wandered through the fields around my home almost every day since lockdown, charting Spring […] from James Common https://commonbynature.co.uk/2020/06/19/a-walk-on-the-north-downs-way-by-frances-jones/

In a new series of articles, we’ll be taking a look at the best places to watch wildlife in  North East England. By no means comprehensive but hopefully informative, these posts are intended to provide inspiration on where to visit in the North East to observe and enjoy nature, as well as detailing some of […] from James Common https://commonbynature.co.uk/2020/06/11/where-to-watch-wildlife-in-the-north-east-jesmond-dene/

Wildlife gardening has become somewhat of an obsession of late as we attempt to make our urban ‘yarden’ as appealing as possible to all forms of life, from flies to visiting birds. Hand in hand with this, we have increased the time spent monitoring our little plot, with positive results. Already this year, we have […] from James Common https://commonbynature.co.uk/2020/06/05/excitement-in-the-wildlife-garden/

For a long time, I have read with envy the blog posts of others who have visited the Prudhoe Spetchells yet, shamefully, have never found the time to visit myself; though this all changed a fortnight past. The Spetchells are an interesting site in a great many regards. Created as a by-product of factory work […] from James Common https://commonbynature.co.uk/2020/05/31/investigating-the-prudhoe-spetchells/

Spurred on by the gradual easing of lockdown restrictions in England, this weekend past saw us venture forty-five minutes inland to the wild reaches of Allen Banks. An ancient woodland site situated on the banks of the River Allen and maintained by the National Trust. Now, I visit Allen Banks at least once every year […] from James Common https://commonbynature.co.uk/2020/05/23/into-the-wild-woods-at-allen-banks/

We have been on somewhat of a quest this year to transform our little urban yard into a plot beneficial to wildlife. Planting a range of native and ornamental plants, constructing a tiny pond, adding a bee box, and creating a small meadow area in a raised bed, we had hoped that wildlife would be […] from James Common https://commonbynature.co.uk/2020/05/08/the-blue-the-bronze-and-the-hairy/

For me, one of the few positive aspects of our current lockdown has been the opportunity to look closer at the wildlife that persists close to home. Doing so has been eyeopening, to say the least, and while of course, I would rather have been venturing into the wider countryside, the diversity of life here […] from James Common https://commonbynature.co.uk/2020/05/08/on-the-hunt-for-urban-bees/

In line with the government guidance, this week, time in nature has been squeezed and condensed. A  few short forays to my local park and innumerable laps of our eerily quiet street the best I could muster while sticking to the law. Outside, the seasons advance regardless of the turmoil unfolding in human society and […] from James Common https://commonbynature.co.uk/2020/04/02/tales-from-the-urban-jungle-2/

The Natural History Society of Northumbria (NHSN) has launched a new citizen science scheme aiming to map the distribution of five distinctive yet under-recorded bee species across North East England. The five species at the heart of the North East Bee Hunt are common and widespread in other parts of Britain, yet there are noticeable […] from James Common https://commonbynature.co.uk/2020/03/28/could-you-contribute-to-the-north-east-bee-hunt/

Each night a sleepy corner of the country witnesses an amphibian march as hundreds of toads and newts make a perilous journey across a busy road to breed. This mass migration to the Woodland Trust owned Haddon Wood, near Castle Carey, Somerset, is being charted for the first time by a team of hardy volunteers. […] from James Common https://commonbynature.co.uk/2020/03/26/croaky-thousands-of-toads-make-perilous-mass-migration-to-breed/

My walk through the woods has become significantly more important for me since the announcement came that the country was going into lockdown. The song of the blackbird, the sight of a butterfly; these and many more moments have become more precious as the freedom to move whenever and wherever is reduced. After a number […] from James Common https://commonbynature.co.uk/2020/03/26/signs-of-spring-by-frances-jones/

It certainly feels like Spring has sprung in my little corner of Newcastle: garish daffodils of all shapes and sizes adorn the roadsides, House Sparrows emerge from beneath the slates of terraced homes and cool yet brighter mornings are marked by the fluted notes of Song Thrush and the caterwauling of returning Lesser Black-backed Gulls. […] from James Common https://commonbynature.co.uk/2020/03/18/tales-from-the-urban-jungle-1/

An update from week seven of 365 Days of Botany now with a new batch plant species unearthed on my weekend ventures. Ever educational, the challenge this week yielded three species new to me at the time of discovery. Looking downwards to focus on plantlife this year is proving eye-opening: the diversity of life, vibrant […] from James Common https://commonbynature.co.uk/2020/03/12/365-days-of-botany-week-7/

A recap of week 6 of #365DaysofBotany now with a further seven wild plants unearthed (figuratively speaking) around the local area. Befitting of my urban location, some of these are non-native, their colonisation of the cityscape aided by the actions of man, while others you will surely recognise as more typically ‘British’. Day 36: Winter […] from James Common https://commonbynature.co.uk/2020/03/05/365-days-of-botany-week-6/