Tag: pkar

Beach treasure

Wrap up warm and visit a shore to search for the skeletal remains of sea urchins BEACHCOMBING CAN BE A FRUITFUL AND mindful pastime at any time of year, but it’s in winter that the sea gives up many of its treasures. Among them are the skeletal remains of ancient invertebrates that have been on […]

News: Up – Down

Blue gem Two new populations of one of Britain’s rarest beetles have been discovered in Devon. The blue ground beetle, Carabus intricatus, has been found at two new sites on Dartmoor. Buglife’s Laura Larkin says, “Previously, the blue ground beetle was only known from 13 sites in Devon, Cornwall and South Wales, so these new […]

Room to grow

Long-tailed tits are master builders that create flexible nests ONE OF THE FIRST BIRDS YOU’RE LIKELY to see gathering nesting material each year is the long-tailed tit. The female will usually be on a clutch of between eight to 12 eggs by March, or early April further north, but before that the extraordinary nest has […]

Poo corner

ID GUIDE Long-eared bats When surveying for bats, droppings are a key indication of presence. Although there can be subtle differences between species, sometimes DNA analysis is required, which is the case when trying to tell apart brown longeared bat and grey long-eared bat droppings. Claire Boothby, Bats in Churches Project training and survey officer, […]