Headbangers Whilst some birds sing to attract a mate and intimidate their neighbours, woodpeckers take a different approach. They hammer their beak against a tree trunk at incredibly high speeds – up to 40 strikes per second for the great spotted woodpecker. There’s no denying that’s impressive! There’s been some debate about how woodpeckers...
Marvellous mustelids
Mammal expert Stuart Edmunds introduces this incredible collection of carnivores. What is a mustelid? Mustelid probably isn’t a word that most people use very often. Everyone has heard of stoats and weasels, but you might be unaware that these carnivorous animals belong to a group of mammals called the mustelids. Other members of the...
Hibernation – wildlife’s winter survival strategy
The Wildlife Trusts’ youth activism manager, Arran Wilson, draws on his background as a lecturer in zoology to explore what exactly hibernation is, and which animals rely on it to get through winter. Winter brings very different challenges to the UK’s wildlife – temperatures are lower and food is often harder to find. Many...
Polecats, Ferrets and the American Mink
One native, one feral and one invasive. Could American mink halt the expansion of polecat range? Or is hybridisation with ferrets a bigger risk to their recovery? Naturally Native Project Officer Elliot Lea takes a closer look at the status of these three mustelids. European polecats, ferrets and American mink are all members of...
Watch out… there’s mink about!
By Emily Marshall – Naturally Native Project Officer for NWT With autumn just around the corner, we are now entering the American mink dispersal season. American mink are an invasive non-native species which can decimate local water vole populations as well as being a problem for other animals like fish and ground nesting birds....
Invasive species week: Introducing the American mink
American mink are non-native species that pose a threat to water voles in our region. But what can we do to help restore ‘Ratty’ to North East waterways? If you have ever found yourself thinking, “There really ought to be a week to raise awareness about invasive species”, you will be pleased to hear...
Naturally Native Monthly Blog
Habitat Fragmentation In last month’s blog we wrote about the power of slowing down and observing nature in your local green space, and the benefit that this can have on your emotional connection with the world around you. We hope you’ve managed to find a minute to stand still in your local park; to...
Volunteering on your local patch – what we can learn from looking down…
In May 2020 the Knepp Estate’s white storks became the first to successfully fledge chicks on UK soils for over 600 years. And in 2019, white-tailed eagles were released on the Isle of Wight – the first to take to the island’s skies since 1780. These were truly wonderful moments for everyone with an...
Naturally Native: saving the north east’s water voles
Introducing Mark Slaughter – Naturally Native Project Officer at Tees Valley Wildlife Trust Thinking back to my childhood, our family holidays invariably involved tents, rain, and queues for lukewarm showers. To my school friends, these sounded like key ingredients for a week of misery. “We’ve been on the beach in Spain for a week”, they’d announce proudly. “Boring”, I’d murmur. Because whilst our family trips did entail tents and rain,...
Marine Week
National Marine Week – 25th July – 9th August 2020 – is The Wildlife Trusts’ nationwide celebration of all things marine. Despite the name, it lasts 15 fun-filled days to allow for the variation in tide times around the country. This year is slightly different, due to the Covid-19 crisis, but there’s still lots to...
Getting wilder by the year
Discover how our 30 Days Wild challenge can breathe new life into your relationship with nature. 30 Days Wild is back for another year! The Wildlife Trusts’ annual nature challenge; one random wild act a day, for a whole month, kicking off on the 1st of June. The last five years of 30 Days...
Deciphering the dawn chorus
Wildlife expert Nick Acheson introduces some of our feathered superstars to listen out for this spring When we look at wildlife, anthropomorphising is commonly discouraged. ‘If you project human feelings onto animals,’ we’re told, ‘you won’t observe what is really going on.’ But if, like me, you see personalities in wild animals all around...