The Natterer’s Bat, Myotis nattereri, named after the Austrian naturalist Johann Natterer is a medium sized species found throughout the British isles. Appearance, flight and echolocation They have light brown fur on their upperbody and pale white fur underneath and their face, which is long and pink, has little fur covering. Their ears are longContinue reading “Natterer’s Bat”
Category Archives: Natural history
The Brimstone Butterfly
The Brimstone Butterfly Gonepteryx rhamni, is one of our largest butterflies and quite often the first to be seen as it languidly flaps across the landscape after emerging from its winter hibernation. It is thought to be the original butterfly after which the common name for this type of insect came from, as its wingsContinue reading “The Brimstone Butterfly”
The Great Spotted Woodpecker
The Great spotted woodpecker, Dendrocopus major, dendrocopus being Latin for ‘tree striker’, is the most frequently seen of the four species of woodpecker native to the British isles. It is rapidly becoming the most common too as it’s range has spread to areas it was previously rare, including Scotland and Ireland, where they became absentContinue reading “The Great Spotted Woodpecker”
The Common Adder
The Common Adder, Vipera berus, is locally common in the Northwest of England and can often be found in the summer sunbathing on paths in the woods or on the fells, it is one of only four species of snake in the British isles and the only species of snake that can be found withinContinue reading “The Common Adder”
The Early Purple Orchid
The Early Purple Orchid, Orchis mascula, is, as its name implies, one of the earliest orchids to appear in the British countryside, flowering in April, all the way through to June. Its scientific name; mascula, derives from the shape of its tubers and roots which are, not to put too fine a point on it,Continue reading “The Early Purple Orchid”
The Green Tiger Beetle
The Green Tiger beetle, Cicindela campestris, is a beautiful looking, strikingly iridescent, green beetle about 1 to 1.5cm long with yellow spots on its wing cases, they are superb and voracious predators and have the large eyes and mandibles needed to keep this appetite satisfied. Their scientific name originates from the Latin word cicindela, meaningContinue reading “The Green Tiger Beetle”
Part Two of The Bluebell, in which we look its lifecycle and the problem of the invasive Spanish Bluebell
Part Two of The Bluebell In Part 1 of this 2 part series about the Bluebell we looked at where and when you might see this beautiful spring flower bloom, in this part I’ll write more about the lifecycle of this plant and one of the main threats to its existence, the Spanish Bluebell. Fragrant,Continue reading “Part Two of The Bluebell, in which we look its lifecycle and the problem of the invasive Spanish Bluebell”
The Swift and its fleeting visit to our isles
The Devil’s bird The screaming, soaring Swift, Apus apus, has always seemed a magical bird, in the way of all of the natural phenomena in the world whose nature has always been mysterious to us, they were once known as the ‘Devil’s bird’ as the screaming flocks of black crosses around church spires seemed toContinue reading “The Swift and its fleeting visit to our isles”
Northwest Nature and History 