Longtailed tit, Aegithalos caudatus. The long-tailed tit is easily recognisable with its distinctive colouring, a tail that is bigger than its body, and undulating flight. Gregarious and noisy residents, long-tailed tits are most usually noticed in small, excitable flocks of about 20 birds. Like most tits, they rove the woods and hedgerows, but are also seen on heaths and commons with […]
Magpie, Pica pica. With its noisy chattering, black-and-white plumage and long tail, there is nothing else quite like the magpie in the UK. When seen close-up its black plumage takes on an altogether more colourful hue with a purplish-blue iridescent sheen to the wing feathers, and a green gloss to the tail. Magpies seem to be jacks of all trades – […]
Maiden’s hair, Asplenium trichomanes. Both the scientific name and another common name “spleenwort” are derived from an old belief, based on the doctrine of signatures, that the fern was useful for ailments of the spleen, due to the spleen-shaped sori on the backs of the fronds. “wort” is an ancient English term that simply means “plant”. Photo Andy Lewington, cambriancavingcouncil
Mallow, Malva. This plant is one of the earliest cited in recorded literature. Horace mentions it in reference to his own simple diet: “Me pascunt olivae, me cichorea, me malvae” (“As for me, olives, endives, and mallows provide sustenance”). Lord Monboddo describes his translation of an ancient epigram that demonstrates malva was planted upon the graves of the ancients, stemming from […]
Marsh marigold, Caltha palustris. Marsh-marigold by a pond provides shelter for frogs and early nectar for insects.
Meadow brown, Maniola jurtina. One of our commonest butterflies often seen throughout the summer months near grasslands. A highly variable species, particularly with respect to the amount of orange on the forewings and the number of black spots on the underside of the hindwings. Adults will fly in dull weather when most other butterflies are inactive.
Meadow cranesbill, Geranium pratense. Part of the geranium family, The leaves are deeply divided into 7-9 lobes and 3-6 inch wide and the flowers are pale blue, although getting paler into the centre. The flowers have 5 petals, which sometimes have veins. The stamens have pink-purple stalks with dark purple anthers. Photo: Stephen Middleton
Nuthatch, Sitta europaea. The nuthatch is a plump bird about the size of a great tit that resembles a small woodpecker. It is blue-grey above and whitish below, with chestnut on its sides and under its tail. It has a black stripe on its head, a long black pointed bill, and short legs. It breeds in central and southern England and […]
Old man’s beard, Clematis vitalba. Old man’s beard or Traveller’s joy is a climbing shrub of the Clematis family with branched, grooved stems, deciduous leaves, and scented greeny-white flowers with fluffy underlying sepals which give the beard effect which recalls Father Christmas’s beard in December. It’s not particularly popular with insects and needs to be controlled or it will smother whole […]
Orange tip, Anthocharis cardamines. One of the first species of spring. The male has orange tips to the forewings. These orange tips are absent in the female which is often mistaken for one of the other whites, especially the Green-veined or Small White. The undersides are mottled green and white which is in fact made up of a mixture of black and […]
