Author: raysurridge
-
Three-lobed Crowfoot
This speciality of muddy tracks and ruts on The Lizard starts to show its delicate, tiny white flowers in February and March. Photo: Amanda Scott
-
Dog’s Mercury
Found mainly in woodlands and hedgerows, Dog’s Mercury is far from showy, but is distinguished by being one of the earlier plants to flower each year. Photo: Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
-
Championing the Lizard’s rare liverworts
The Lizard is justly recognised as a hotspot for mosses and liverworts, as much as it is for rare clovers, rushes and wild asparagus. This article explains more and highlights an exciting recent discovery. Although much is known about the rare wildlife of The Lizard, there is plenty more to be revealed and, as a recent…
-
Oak Marble Gall
Oak Marble Galls, common on oak trees, are created by a parasitic gall-wasp. Photo: AnemoneProjectors, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
-
Land Quillwort
Look out for the ‘Catherine Wheel’ leaf rosettes of Land Quillwort between autumn and spring, a plant that, in mainland Britain, is only found on The Lizard. Photo: Steve Townsend
-
Winter Heliotrope
This winter-flowering, vanilla-scented plant of waste places and roadsides is not native to Britain, but is a valuable source of nectar for emerging insects in the earliest days of spring. Photo: Steve Townsend
-
Dartford Warbler (article)
This small, dark, long-tailed warbler is a resident breeder in the UK but in low numbers. It has suffered in the past from severe winters: its population crashed to a few pairs in the 1960s, since when it has gradually recovered, increasing in both numbers and range. Image copyright: Vic Froome (rspbimages.com) It is still…
-
Rook
Rooks, familiar across the British countryside, also have an important place in our folklore. Photo: © Natural England/Allan Drewitt
-
Sand dunes: unsung heroes of coastal defence
Visitors to Poldhu Beach might be shocked to discover that much of the sand has disappeared following the storms and high seas at the beginning of January, unveiling a very stony beach and lots of beach litter. Thanks to Friends of Poldhu, the litter has all been removed, but it will take months, if not…
-
The Lizard’s Wildlife Web
The Word Wide Web is increasingly becoming a wonderful medium to help wildlife spotting and for sharing information. Obviously there is nothing quite like getting out there and immersing yourself in the wonderful environment we have on our doorstep, but now there are many ways of discovering more and sharing experiences with like-minded folk. Here…
-
Sea Campion
Sea Campion, a flower of early to mid-summer, flowers into the autumn on The Lizard’s clifftops. Photo: Amanda Scott
-
Mute Swan
Watch for graceful Mute Swans on The Lizard. The creeks of the Helford River are a good place to look. Photo: © Amanda Scott
-
Greenfinch
If you feed your garden birds, you probably won’t need to go far to see Greenfinches, a regular garden visitor, on The Lizard. Photo: © Natural England/Allan Drewitt
-
Turnstone
The UK hosts an important overwintering population of Turnstones. Watch out for them on rockier shores round the Lizard coastline. Photo: © Natural England/Allan Drewitt
-
Kennack Towans: restoration of a dune
The many thousands of locals and visitors alike which stream onto Kennack Sands during the Spring and Summer months may well be unaware that a National Nature Reserve backs onto the beaches where they will be spending time picnicking and body-boarding. With the exception of the occasional Outreach or educational activity the NNR team generally…
-
Golden Plover
Golden Plovers hang out together in flocks on grasslands and marshy areas in the winter. Windmill Farm is one of the best places to see them on The Lizard. Photo: Amanda Scott