for fun, for knowledge, for nature and for children · for fun, for knowledge, for nature and for...

For fun, for knowledge,

for nature and for children

Families and children e-magazine #4 – Winter 2019/2020

Toads and

Frogs Green is

the colour

Birds in

snow and

ice

Nature

Crossword

http://www.britishnatureguide.com/

http://www.britishnatureguide.com/

Welcome to the British Nature Guide autumn e-magazine for families and

children. It includes articles, fact sheets and activities for adults to read and

discuss with children aged from 4-12 years.

In this children’s e-magazine

– Winter waterbirds

Page 3 – Frogs and Toads

Page 4 – Nature crossword game

Page 5 – What is an invertebrate?

Page 6 – I am a butterfly

Page 7 – Mini-beast activity

Page 8 – Birds on green list of

conservation concern

Page 9 & 10 – Winter birds in

parks and gardens

Page 11 – What is a vertebrate?

Page 12 – Mini-beast activity

Page 13 – Green is the colour

Page 14 – Fastest, biggest and

smallest animals

Page 15 – Test of wildlife

knowledge

Page 16 – Nature and the

environment

Page 17 – Photo identification

quiz

Page 18 – Birds in snow and ice

Page 19 – Wildlife corridors

Page 20 – Answers page

Page 21 – In the next issue

Page 22 - #Ourworldisworthsaving

For fun, for knowledge, for nature and for children

Page 2

You will find lots of activity sheets in this e-magazine. Please try to save paper, ink

and electricity by only printing out the pages that you need.

Winter is a good time to look for

ducks on rivers, lakes and large

ponds. The beautiful Mandarin

Duck was brought to Britain from

China because people wanted to

see them in wildfowl collections.

Some escaped and are now living

in the wild in Britain.

Two species of wild swans come

here for the winter, the Whooper

and the slightly smaller Bewick’s.

They come to escape from the cold

weather in their breeding grounds

in Siberia and Iceland. Both species

have yellow and black marks on

their bills.

There are some Barnacle Geese

which stay here all year round, but

they are not really wild. The wild

birds arrive in the autumn from

Greenland and winter over large

parts of Scotland, Ireland and

northern England. They feed by

grazing on short grasses.

Although only a few thousand Teal

breed in Britain nearly a quarter of

a million winter here. Huge

numbers make their way here from

northern Europe and Siberia. They

are dabbling ducks and they feed

on vegetation in shallow water by

submerging their heads.

Mandarin

Whooper

Swan

Barnacle

Goose

Teal

Toads and Frogs


Toads and Frogs

In most of Britain you will find an

amphibian hopping across the garden it

will be either a Common Toad (picture on

the left above) or a Common Frog (picture

on the right above)

If you live in southern England you might

find a Marsh Frog (picture on the right).

This species has been introduced to

Britain from Europe and is gradually

expanding its range further north and

west.

What is the difference between a Frog and a Toad?

A Frog has smooth skin that looks shiny or wet. A Toad has bumpy skin that looks dry.

Adult Frogs spend some of their time in water and they are good swimmers. Adult Toads

only go into the water to lay their eggs.

Both species lay their eggs in water. Frog spawn looks like a large blob of slimy jelly, full of

black spots. Toad spawn looks like a long string of jelly with black spots along the middle.

Both Frogs and Toads have strong back legs. Frogs tend to jump to get around. Toads

usually crawl from one place to another.

There is another species of Toad living in Britain, the Natterjack Toad. Natterjack Toads are

specially protected by law because they are an endangered species. They used to be more

widespread, but now they are only found in a few isolated areas. The Natterjack Toad has a

bold yellow line down the middle of its back which makes it easy to identify.

A nature crossword game Fill in the missing letters

Have you filled in all the letters? Well done. Now all you need to do is find these two

words hidden in the answers on the page, Dromedary and Terrapin.

Finished? Now go to page 12 to check your answers


Said to have a hundred legs Large mammal in tropical forests

A marsupial, gets around by hopping Long invertebrate burrows in soil A mammal which eats termites

A bit like an Octopus A type of mongoose, stands upright

A type of conifer tree A species of owl

Endangered large striped cat Two species in Britain, black and red

Not a fish, looks like a star A very large hairy spider

Plant once used to make soap

Large lizard in central America Green/red tentacles seen in rock pools

What is an invertebrate?


Insects and spiders are all quite small and they do not have a skeleton made up of bones.

Instead of bones, many invertebrates have a hard outer shell or casing to protect the soft body

inside and to hold it in shape. You can see this clearly in the pictures of the ladybird and snail

below.

Some invertebrates like the slug and worm only have soft bodies, with no hard casing. This

means they have very flexible bodies.

Remember - Insects and spiders are all called invertebrates because they do not have bones.

All insects and spiders are invertebrates.

There are more pictures of invertebrates below.

Go to page 11 for

What are vertebrates?

Crabs and lobsters are invertebrates. They are a bit like

snails with legs, they have a hard outer shell to hold their

body in place, but no bones.

Interesting facts about spiders

Spiders are invertebrates, but they are not

insects.

Spiders are arachnids. They have eight legs

and they do not have antennae or wings.

Look carefully and you will see that a spider

only has two body parts, and not three like

insects. On spiders the head is part of the

front body segment. Beetles are insects and

their wings are hidden under hard outer

casings called elytra.

Leafhopper

Damselfly

Hoverfly

Butterfly

Beetle

Spider

Slug Snail

Ladybird


I am a butterfly

I am a butterfly.

I have wings.

I can fly.

I drink nectar from flowers.

This butterfly has wings and it can

fly. It drinks nectar from flowers.

A reading and drawing page for children who

are new to nature aged 4-7

Draw a picture of a butterfly in the empty box above.

age 7


First steps into nature

A mini-beast activity page Mini-beasts in gardens and parks. How many can you recognise?

Write their names in the blue boxes next to the pictures.

Write the answers to the questions in the yellow boxes.

You will find the answers on page 12

What colour

are my spots?

What colours

are in my

wings?

What do I like

to eat?

What am I?

What am I?

What am I?


Birds of Conservation Concern - Green List

This page is intended for discussion with older children

Due to the growing environmental threat posed by climate change, leading conservation

organisations have assigned each UK bird species either Red (highest conservation priority), Amber

(medium conservation concern) or Green (least conservation concern) status. Having focused on the

Red and Amber lists in previous issues, we now turn to the Green least endangered list. While

nothing should ever be taken for granted, it is encouraging to see some species continuing to flourish

including the three featured below, two of which are green in every sense of the word!

Green Woodpeckers have proven remarkably adaptable and

are well established in the English southern counties where

their infectious laughing call is often heard even when they

remain hidden. The female (left) lacks the red facial markings

of the male though retains a bright red crown. For the most

part “woodpeckers” in name alone, their prominent bills are

mainly used to delve deep into ant hills for their staple food.

Outside the breeding season a largely solitary species though

pairs roost nearby each other through the winter. Increasingly

bold in suburban areas though quick to retire when disturbed.

Greenfinches provide a splash of colour in parks and gardens

where they socialise with other finches on feeders, not always

harmoniously but more than holding their own in disputes.

Due to intensive farming methods they have become

increasingly reliant on a ready supply of seeds and nuts in

urban areas through the winter though it is essential to keep

bird tables and underlying ground clean for them to prevent

the risk of Trichomonosis (a garden bird disease that is fatal for

Greenfinches). A species with a distinctive twittering call.

Everything is pleasing about the Chiffchaff, from its signature

two note call to its rather unwieldy Latin name Pyhlloscopus

collybita (leaf explorer/money changer). A species whose song

is one of the early sounds of spring, though the first Chiffchaffs

we hear may be those who have stayed over winter before

being joined by a strong contingent from southern Europe and

western Africa. An accomplished fly catcher who also dines on

moths and caterpillars, the Chiffchaff is a rare but not

unknown sight at the garden table.


Put out hanging bird feeders with sunflower seeds and unsalted peanuts. If you have a bird feeding

table you can put out seeds, grated cheese, fruit and scraps such as chopped up cooked bacon rind. Do

not hang food up in nets as birds can easily get trapped and either injure themselves or die.

Winter birds in parks and gardens

The winter is a good time to watch small birds

in parks and gardens. There are plenty to see,

and they are easier to see because there are

not as many leaves on the trees.

Bird feeders and bird tables attract lots of

different species. The easiest to see are usually

Robin, Blackbird, Bluetit and Great Tit,

although you might see other birds like

Nuthatches, Goldfinches and Chaffinches.

If you visit a park where there is a lake you might

see Coots, Moorhens and Canada Geese. You

might also find several species of ducks and

grebes. Make sure that you go with an adult and

don’t get too close to the edge of the water.

Before you set out have a look in a bird book and

try to work out which birds you would like to see.

Remember that identifying ducks can be difficult

as the males and females usually look different.

On the next page you will find a list of the most common birds which visit parks and gardens. Next to

each name there is a box so you can record which species you have seen. There are also some empty

boxes for you to record other birds you might see.

Please don’t feed bread to ducks, geese and swans. It is not good for them. Try to give them vegetables,

like sweetcorn, peas, chopped up lettuce. They also like seeds, died porridge oats and cooked rice.

If you enjoy watching birds then it would be useful

to have a pair of binoculars. These will help you

identify birds that stay well away from people,

either high in trees or on the other sides of lakes.

As well as putting food out for garden birds it is just as

important to leave out fresh water for them to drink

and bathe. Make sure that you change the water every

day.


Bird record table Bluetit Woodpigeon Mallard

Great Tit Collared Dove Mute Swan

Coal Tit Chaffinch Canada Goose

Long-tailed Tit Greenfinch Greylag Goose

Robin Bullfinch Heron

Dunnock Goldfinch Crow

Blackbird Siskin Magpie

Song Thrush Fieldfare Jackdaw

Wren Redwing Jay

Nuthatch Dabchick Feral Pigeon

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Great Crested

Grebe Black-headed Gull

Green Woodpecker

Treecreeper Reed Bunting

Shoveler Teal Shelduck

Record other species you see below

Winter birds in parks and gardens (Part 2)


Animals with bones on the inside of their body are known as vertebrates

Birds

are

vertebrates

Fish

are

vertebrates

What is a vertebrate? (For older children)

People

are

vertebrates

Monkeys

and apes are

vertebrates

Whales and

dolphins are

vertebrates

Lizards and

snakes are

vertebrates

Turtles and

tortoises are

vertebrates

Cows and

sheep are

vertebrates

Frogs and

toads are

vertebrates

Bats

are

vertebrates

Lions and

tigers are

vertebrates

Dinosaurs were vertebrates

Vertebrates such as turtles, tortoises and terrapins have bones on the insides of their bodies but

they have also developed shells on the outsides of their body, just like snails and crabs.

Snakes do not have legs. This was not always the case. Millions of years they were types of lizards.

Over time they evolved to lose their legs. They still have a backbone, skull and jaw like lizards.

Whales, dolphins and porpoises live in the sea, but they are not fish. To breathe they have to come

to the surface to get air to fill their lungs. They have skeletons like us, but do not have legs.

Fish do not have arms and legs, instead they have fins. Some fish, like mudskippers, use their fins

to walk over sand, and even to climb trees. The first land animals evolved from fish like these.

Monkeys and apes are very like humans. They have two arms and two legs, just like us. They have

more hair than we do. Spider Monkeys have long tails that they can use to cling on to branches.

Birds have bones. If they had bones like ours they would be too heavy to fly, so birds have evolved

to have bones which are nearly hollow. Instead of hair, birds have feathers which help them to fly.

The animals we see in fields and on farms are vertebrates. Cows, sheep, donkeys, horses, goats

and pigs. They have four limbs like we do, but they do not have arms, instead they have four legs.

Frogs and toads have bones. They have four legs like farm animals but they do not run, instead

they use their very powerful hind legs to jump great distances, or hop as it is usually called.

Bats don’t have feathers like birds, but they can still fly. Their wings are actually a thin layer of skin

which is stretched from the body to their hands and between their very long fingers.

All cats both big and small are vertebrates. You might be surprised to hear that we have a wild cat

in Britain, the Scottish Wild Cat, unfortunately there are very few of these cats left in the wild.

People have more than 200 bones in their bodies. There are 27 different bones in each of our hands.

The longest bone in the human body is the femur (thigh bone) the shortest is the stapes (a bone

inside the middle ear) Teeth and finger nails are hard, but they are not bones.

Dinosaurs evolved over millions of years from fish that crawled out of the sea. Some dinosaurs evolved to eat meat,

these were carnivores, while others ate plants and were called herbivores. All dinosaurs had bones and were

vertebrates just like us. Fossilised bones are what archaeologists find and dig up to discover what dinosaurs looked like.

Something beginning with C

I can think of a Coot.

How many animals, plants, insects and birds

can you think of with names that begin with

the letter C?

Write them down on a piece of paper.

If you can think of more than five you have

done very well.

I have thought of a few more on page 20. Perhaps you

have thought of some that I didn’t think of.

The answers to the nature crossword game from

page 4 are below


Below are the names of six birds of

prey that live in Britain.

Fill in the missing letters to find out

what they are.

P_R_G_I_E

K_S_R_L

O_P_E_

S_A_R_W_A_K

M_R_I_

H_B_Y

(go to page 20 to check your answers)

Answer to

question above

In Britain there

are less than 60

species of

butterfly and

more than 2500

species of moth.

In Britain are there more butterfly species,

or more moth species?

See below for answer

Ladybirds and Weevils are both types

of …………….

See below for answer

Answer to question above

Ladybirds and Weevils are both types of Beetles.

DEGHOGHE If you rearrange these letters you will

find the name of a popular British

mammal.

(Go to page 20 to find the answer)

What animal am I?

I live in a warren. I am a __________ (Go to page 20 for the answer)

Green is the colour


Lots of birds, insects, butterflies and moths have green as part of their name.

You will find a few on this page. There are a lot more. Why don’t you try to think of some?

Green

Hairstreak

Butterfly

Green

Carpet

Moth

Green

Woodpecker

Great

Green Bush

Cricket

Common

Green

Grasshopper

Green

Silver-lines

Moth

Common Green

Capsid

Greenfinch

Common

Greenbottle

Fly

Green Oak

Tortrix

Moth

There are lots of different shades of

green as you can see from the pictures

above.

Green

Tiger

Beetle

Common

Green Pug

Moth

Common

Green

Shieldbug

Green is a good colour to be, it helps

insects and animals to hide from

predators among leaves.

The fastest, biggest and smallest animals in Britain and the world


The fastest bird in the

world is the Peregrine

Falcon. It can reach

speeds of more than 200

miles an hour. This bird

lives in Britain, so if we

are lucky we can watch it

flying.

When they are not

hunting they like to roost

high on cliffs, tall buildings

or electricity pylons.

The longest snake in Britain is the Grass Snake. It can

grow to more than 150 centimetres in length.

Grass Snakes are not poisonous. They eat Frogs, Toads,

small mammals and Lizards. They are good swimmers.

The largest land mammal in

Britain is the Red Deer. A

large Red Deer can weigh as

much as 200 kilograms.

The biggest land mammal in

the world is the African

Elephant which can weigh

more than 6000 kilograms.

The largest mammal in the

world is the Blue Whale. A

large adult weighs about

150,000 kilograms.

This means that an Elephant

is the same weight as 30 Red

Deer, and a Blue Whale is

the same as 750 Red Deer.

The smallest mammal in Britain is a Pygmy Shrew. It only

weighs about 5 grams. There are around 10 million of

them in Britain. With luck you might see one, but you are

more likely to hear one squeaking in the grass near a

footpath as you walk by.

At less than 10

centimetres in length

and weighing around 6

grams, the Goldcrest is

the smallest bird in

Britain.

The smallest bird in the

world is the Bee

Hummingbird from

Cuba. They are less than

6cm long and weigh less

than 2 grams.

A 1p coin weighs twice

as much as a Bee

Hummingbird.

The fastest ocean mammal is the Common Dolphin.

They can swim at speed of up to 60 kilometres an

hour. This is ten times as fast as the best human

swimmers.

The tallest animal in

the world is the Giraffe.

Giraffes live in Africa.

They feed on leaves

high in trees that no

other animals can

reach. They can grow

to around 6 metres in

height. This is the same

as if 6 adult people

were standing on each

other’s heads.

The Ostrich is the

fastest flightless bird in

the world. It is also the

heaviest and tallest. It

lives in Africa and can

run as fast as 45miles

an hour and can keep

up that speed for long

distances. The fastest

human runners can

reach about 25 miles an

hour, but only for very

short distances.

The biggest butterfly in

Britain is the

Swallowtail. They are

only found in East

Anglia in June and July.


What is so sad about all of these bird

species of birds? (answer on page 20)

Passenger Pigeon

Laughing Owl

Great Auk

Dodo

Did you know that in most years more than 200 different species of bird breed in Britain?

Altogether there are more than 80 million pairs of birds breeding in Britain. This might seem a lot but

this figure is thought to have dropped from around 100 million pairs 50 years ago.

We need to do more to protect our birds, or their numbers will continue to decline.

Just for fun

What is this bird?

I am a bird and I visit Britain from

Africa for the summer.

My feathers are yellow on my

front and greenish on my back. I

am quite small and I have a long

tail which I bob up and down. I

like to feed in the grass in fields

with cows.

Go to page 20 for the answer

Test your knowledge of wildlife

Only six species of thrush are seen regularly in

Britain. Their names are listed below. Fill in the

missing letters to find out what they are:-

S_N_ T_R_S_

M_S_L_ T_R_S_

B_A_K_I_D

R_N_ O_Z_L

F_E_D_A_E

R_D_I_G

On a bird, where would you find the

primaries, secondaries and tertiaries? (Go to page 20 for the answer)

Where in the world would you find kangaroos

living in the wild?

(Go to page 20 for the answer)

Where in the world would you find penguins?

In the Arctic, or the Antarctic?


Where in the world would you find Giant Pandas

living in the wild?


Where in the world would you find zebras

living in the wild?


Fill in the missing word

Grayling, Brimstone, Gatekeeper and

Ringlet are all kinds of …………………….

(go to page 20 for the answer)


Nature and the environment Look out for

butterflies on sunny

days in the winter.

Some like this

Brimstone might be

seen well into

November.

Far too many fish are being caught from our seas and

oceans every year.

If we don’t reduce the number that are caught scientists

believe that there will be none left by the year 2050.

Cetaceans in British waters

Whales, dolphins and porpoises are all types of

cetaceans. Around 30 different species of these

amazing marine mammals can be seen in the

seas around Britain and Ireland, including the

world’s largest mammal the Blue Whale.

Some, such as the Blue Whale, are seen very

rarely, but about a dozen species are sighted

regularly from boats and headlands.

Several species are present throughout year,

including Bottlenose Dolphin, White-beaked

Dolphin and Common Porpoise.

Whale species to look out for are the Humpback,

Fin, Sperm and Minke.

Another special species is the Killer Whale. The

best place to look for this magnificent hunter is

in the seas around Scotland.

The best way of getting a good sighting of a

cetacean is by going on an organized boat trip.

You will find these advertised on the internet and

at harbours around the country.

Whales and dolphins are protected species, so

make sure you only go with a company that does

not disturb or harass the animals by getting too

close.

If you count the rings out from the centre of

a tree stump you can discover how old the

tree was when it was cut down. These are

known as growth rings.

The next time you find the stump of a tree

that has been sawn down, try to count the

rings.

Sometimes you might also find interesting

patterns in the wood, like this fish that

looks like it has just blown an air bubble.

The study of tree rings is called

dendrochronology.

Pied Wagtail

Don’t forget that our wild birds need clean

fresh water as much as food during the

winter months. If you have a bird bath in

your garden, please clean it out regularly

and keep it topped up with water.

Photo identification quiz for younger children

Below are pictures of nine birds, insects, animals and plants. How many can you identify?

Write your answers in the boxes under the pictures.

1. 2. 3.

4. 5. 6.

7. 8. 9.

You will find the answers on page 20



Do birds

feel the

cold? The answer is yes

they do.

How do birds cope with cold weather?

Birds have lots of feathers and most of them aren’t just for flying. Below their outer

feathers they have layers of fluffy feathers called down. Look carefully and you will see that

birds look bigger in the winter. This is because they fluff up their feathers to trap a layer

of warm air around their bodies.

In the autumn birds build up their fat reserves to give them the energy needed to keep

warm over winter, but they need to top up their reserves every day.

Garden birds like suet fatballs, sunflower seeds, grated cheese, peanuts and mealworms.

Water birds like seeds, oats, sweetcorn, peas and vegetables.

Why don’t birds freeze when they stand on snow and ice, or swim in freezing cold water?

If a person was to stand in cold water their feet would quickly get cold. The blood circulating

through their feet would cool down and as it returned to the heart it would cool down the

rest of the body. It would not be long before the whole body would be as cold as the feet.

In birds the blood in their feet is kept just above freezing point. This blood is not circulated

around the rest of their body, so the blood in their bodies remains warm and the birds don’t

freeze.


Wildlife corridors and why we need them

In Britain wildlife corridors

might only be a few metres

across to help small birds,

mammals and insects, but

in India or Africa where

they still have large

mammals such as

Elephants and Leopards

wildlife corridors might

need to be several

kilometres wide.

Why are wildlife corridors so

important?

Because most wildlife reserves

and sanctuaries are not big

enough, and do not have

enough different types of

habitat, to support breeding

populations of insects, birds

and animals.

Features which create

wildlife corridors

through built up areas

• Wildlife friendly

gardens

• Garden ponds

• Hedges

• Trees and

bushes

• Streams and

rivers with

overgrown

banks

• Canals

• Road bridges

• Roadside verges

What can we do to help?

Plant native wildflowers and trees in our

gardens. Build a pond if there’s space.

Leave wild areas for mammals,

amphibians and insects to live in and

travel through.

Leave gaps in fences so wildlife can move

freely between our gardens. Don’t cut

our lawns and tidy our hedges so often.

Encourage our neighbours to do the

same.

Plants and insects use

wildlife corridors as well

It can be dangerous for small

birds like Bluetits and Wrens to

fly long distances across open

fields. They are not strong

flyers and they would be easy

prey for predators like

Magpies, Crows and

Sparrowhawks.

Lots of our mammals like mice,

voles, shrews, badgers and

hedgehogs are killed or injured

trying to cross busy roads or

attacked by cats and dogs as

they wander around built up

areas.

Wildlife corridors allow all of

these creatures to remain

hidden as they move from one

area to another.

Birds and animals forage for natural food like berries, nuts and insects. Many of these creatures live in small

nature reserves or woodlands surrounded by open fields, factories, roads and houses.

When their food supply runs out, they are forced to leave their home and search for food in other areas. Some

are lucky and find a garden nearby where food and water are left out specially for them, but others are not so

lucky and if they don’t find another wild area they will starve.

Wildlife corridors link two or more wildlife areas together and allow all types of wildlife to move safely from

one area to another. This gives them more places to feed and more places to raise their young in the breeding

season. Our gardens can be important habitat for our wildlife.

Woodland

Nature

reserve

Park

Three

wildlife

areas linked

by wildlife

corridors,

surrounded

by housing

estates

Something beginning

with C from page 12

Here are a few more animals,

plants, insects and birds with

names that begin with a C.

Chaffinch, Cat, Crow, Comma

Butterfly, Clover and Caterpillar

Well done if you got all of them,

and congratulations if you have

thought of any others.

Answer to question on page

15

Where do you find penguins

living in the wild?

Answer – Penguins live in the

Antarctic


The suggested answers for the photo identification quiz

from page 17 are below.

There are lots of other acceptable answers.

Answers page

Answer to question on page 15

Where do you find Giant Pandas living in the wild?

Answer – In south-west China

Answer to

question on

page 15

What is so sad

about the

Passenger

Pigeon, the

Laughing Owl,

the Great Auk

and the Dodo?

Answer – They

are all extinct


Where do you find kangaroos living in the wild?

Answer – Most species live in Australia (Some tree

kangaroos also live on the island of Papua New Guinea)

Answer to question on

page 15

Where do you find zebras

living in the wild?

Answer – In Africa

Answer to word quiz on page 12

Peregrine, Kestrel, Osprey, Sparrowhawk, Merlin and Hobby.

Well done if you got them all.

The answer to the

‘what is this bird’ on

page 15

Yellow Wagtail

(below)


On a bird you would find the primaries,

secondaries and tertiaries in the wings. They

are the flight feathers.

Answer from page 15

Grayling, Brimstone, Gatekeeper and

Ringlet are all kinds of Butterfly

The answer to the muddled up letters quiz

from page 12 is HEDGEHOG

Answer to missing word quiz on page 12.

A Rabbit lives in a warren.

Thank you from all of our team for taking the time to read this e-magazine.

If you have enjoyed it, please tell your friends about it.

In our spring issue you will find

A nature crossword

A photo identification quiz

Spring migrant birds

Spring flowers

First butterflies of the year

What is a mammal?

To discover lots more nature activity and fact

sheets, visit the Resources for Children pages on

www.britishnatureguide.com


Oystercatchers are

very noisy wading

birds. They have

pink legs, an

orange bill and

black and white

feathers. Look for

them around the

coast in winter.

Magazine

cover photo

Oystercatcher

taken at

Cemlyn Bay

on Anglesey

in June 2018.

Hawthorn bushes are

common in our hedgerows.

Over the winter months lots

of bird species, including

Robins, Fieldfares,

Redwings, Blackbirds and

Waxwings eat Hawthorn

berries. Squirrels, Dormice

and Wood Mice also rely on

the berries for food.

Because of the sharp

spines on the branches it is

also a popular place for

small birds to hide from

predators.

The Hawthorn bush is

important for our wildlife

all year round.

More than 300 species of

insects are known to feed

or breed on it, including

the Hawthorn Shieldbug,

Peacock, Comma and

Holly Blue butterfies,

Chinese Character and

Common Emerald moths.

In spring birds pick bugs

and other invertebrates

from the branches to feed

their young.

Orange Peel Fungus

Let’s make the world smile by doing

everything we can to look after it

Please remember to tell

everyone to look after our world


for fun, for knowledge, for nature and for children · for fun, for knowledge, for nature and for...

Documents