Ladybirds have been a theme of 2022. Fresh from twelve months of ladybird recording, here’s a quick round-up of the highlights this year.
Identifying Dead-nettles
Start identifying dead-nettles with a new crib suitable for beginners. Includes most of the species you’re likely to spot in urban habitats.
Identifying Ragworts and Groundsels
Get started identifying ragworts and groundsels with a brand-new crib sheet suitable for beginners. Find keys boring? You’re not alone. While those of us who spend our days obsessively searching for plants quite like them, for most people, they don’t cut the mustard. Indeed, they can be particularly offputting to beginners. It is for thisContinue reading “Identifying Ragworts and Groundsels”
Weekend Botany at Walker
This weekend provided a nice opportunity for our new local botany group to visit Walker Riverside. Here’s what we encountered. Botany (and wildlife recording in general) can often be a solitary affair. For many of us, I suspect, myself included, that suits us just fine. At least most of the time. Sometimes, however, it isContinue reading “Weekend Botany at Walker”
Ladybirds: A Short Talk and a New Course
With the arrival of winter, now seemed like a good time to look back on a year’s worth of ladybirds and look forward to a new course in 2023. A New Short Talk Golly. For someone who shies away from talks of any kind (and don’t even get me started on crowds), Zoom has beenContinue reading “Ladybirds: A Short Talk and a New Course”
NBN Award for Wildlife Recording
This week, I was both suprised and delighted to recieve the NBN Newcomer Award for Wildlife Recording.
Getting Started with Aphid Identification
Having never tried my hand at aphid identification, this Summer proved quite a steep learning curve with many interesting species seen.
Botanical Highlights from Newcastle this week
A quick round up of this week’s outings in Newcastle with visits to multiple urban sites across the city. City Centre A trip into the very heart of Newcastle last weekend proved far more exciting than anticipated with over 140 species recorded. Starting out at St. Andrew’s Church and a highlight here was Wood SedgeContinue reading “Botanical Highlights from Newcastle this week”
Plant of the Week: Blue Fleabane
Entry number four in our Plant of the Week series follows the unexpected discovery of Italian Toadflax growing in my local cemetery.
Adventives and Invaders at Walker Riverside
A short round-up of a glorious Saturday morning spent botanising one of my favourite local sites. It is no secret that I am a big fan of the messy, post-industrial yet incredibly diverse riverside park at Walker. Visiting for a few years now, I’ve already amassed a fairly respectable plant list for the site yetContinue reading “Adventives and Invaders at Walker Riverside”
An Urban Flora of Newcastle – Mapping Wild Plants in the City
A short introduction to a personal passion project mapping the diverse and fascinating flora of Newcastle As many of you will know, I have a bit of fondness for Britain’s urban flora. I’m not sure why precisely, but for me, there’s something fascinating about how our plants adapt to artificial ecosystems and how species fromContinue reading “An Urban Flora of Newcastle – Mapping Wild Plants in the City”
Great sites for ladybirds in the North East
A breif and evolving list of great places to find and record ladybirds in North East England.