A guide to the wildlife and nature reserves of the UK.
Wildlife and bird watching in the UK
You don't need to go far to see some great wildlife, there is some near you. There are very well known sites across the UK, National Parks, National nature reserves, RSPB reserves and WWT (Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust) reserves, but there are many other great wildlife spots all over the place. Every county has a wildlife trust that will run a series of local reserves, county councils have their own nature reserves and there are plenty of other places where there is ample wildlife.
We will point you in the direction of all the best sites in any given area, though we have no doubt that there are plenty we don't know about (please let us know by emailing us about anywhere that you can recommend).
For information and recommendations on whale and dolphin watching in the UK.
Read about Damselflies and Dragonflies in the UK.
Region by region
Recent UK & Ireland Wildlife news
- Osprey chicks in UK
- Government to spend £400,000 to protect pheasants from buzzards
- Very unusual bird spotted on Welsh border
- Orca attack dolphins off north Scotland
- How many swallows make a summer?
- Great white egret nests in Britain for the first time
- North Atlantic right whale spotted off Cornwall?
- Peter Hain resigns as shadowm minister to promote Severn Barrage
- Wet weather delaying and confusing butterflies
- Leucistic fallow deer near Dunkeld
- The white kite of Gigrin Farm
- Avocets breed at Slimbridge for the first time in recent history
- Butterfly Conservation launch appeal to acquire important butterfly site
- Planet Earth Live - What is the point?
- Motorists warned of risk of deer on roads – Especially in Scotland
More UK & Ireland Wildlife news
- Wild cranes feeding at Slimbridge
- Just 1 pair of Hen harriers nesting in England
- Ducks are disappearing from UK seas
- If possible, leave baby birds alone
- Serial egg collector back behind bars
- Another Goshawk nest destroyed in the Derwent Valley
- New green spaces photo competition
- Oil beetles rediscovered in Lincolnshire after 28 years
- Minsmere, Ouse Washes & Fairburn Ings amongst RSPB reserves flooded
- Hereford bird hide destroyed by vandals
- IUCN quotas
- Surge in dolphins killed as bycatch off Cornwall
- Boris – Time to stop playing the clown – Keep London’s wildlife police
- Firth of Forth dolphin numbers stable
- Bumblebee to return to Britain with reintroduction in Kent
Great white egret nests in Britain for the first time Natural England have confirmed that the great white egret - a species of heron - has nested for the first time in Britain. Whilst Wildlife Extra is always happy to hear good news, there is often double standards used as organisations decry climate change, but welcome some of its consequences.
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North Atlantic right whale spotted off Cornwall?Sightings of a large whale off the Cornish coast near Lizard Point are causing a stir amongst scientists who say it could have been a North Atlantic right whale, one of the most endangered species in the world.
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Planet Earth Live - What is the point?BBC is considered the best in the world at making wildlife programmes, and rightly so. They have set the standard with pioneering techniques, the best presenters and innovation. Planet Earth Live has none of these qualities, and there appears to be little live about it either.
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Another Goshawk nest destroyed in the Derwent ValleyThe crime is the latest in a long-running series of attacks on birds of prey in the Peak District. It leaves only one active goshawk nest in the entire Derwent Valley, which previously has held six pairs of these birds of prey.
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IUCN quotasThere is much ado about the illegal wildlife trade, but there is also a huge amount of legal trade in wildlife products, some very rare indeed, that is permitted by CITES. Elephant tusks, rhino horn, chameleons, leopard tortoises, and cheetah, lion, & leopard hunting trophies all had CITES export quotas the 2011.
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Exotic beetle pest outbreak threatening UK broadleaved trees An outbreak of the Asian longhorn beetle (ALB), an exotic beetle pest which could have severe consequences for British trees, has been found in Kent the Food and Environment Research Agency (FERA) have confirmed. This is the first time an outbreak of this pest has been found in the UK and it is being treated extremely seriously. Fera and the Forestry Commission are taking urgent steps to try to eradicate the outbreak before it has the chance to spread further afield.
Albino bat photoA white, probably albino (we are debating whether it is albino or leucistic) bat photographed by Doug Mackenzie Dodds
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Winners of The UK Wildlife Photography Awards 2011The Wildlife Extra UK Wildlife Photography Competition 2011 has been won by Peter Denness with his stunning image of a hare. We don't usually go for black and white images, but Peter's hare was just too good.
CATEGORY WINNERS
- Agnieszka Dymek - Bugs
- Peter Denness - Mammals
- Howard Booty - Birds
- Matthew Oxley - Reptile, Amphibian & Marine Life
- Martin Sothcott - Landscapes
- Lisa Clyma - Under 16s
UK wildlife photography competition 2011 - FinalistsEvery year, an unexpected theme appears amongst the photos that we are sent. Last year it was all seals and deer, but in 2011 many of the best photos are of feeding, or feeding behaviour.
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Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year winners 2012.The winners of the internationally respected Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition 2011 have been announced. Young Wildlife Photographer of The Year - 10 Years and Under winner. Alien - By Hui Yu Kim (Malaysia)/ Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2011.
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First record of a Dwarf sperm whale in UK watersA small whale spotted in Mounts Bay next to the Cornish town of Penzance is thoughtto have been a dwarf sperm whale - tropical/subtropical species that has never before been recorded off the UK coast.
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Killer cats - But it is avoidableCats kill an estimated 55 million birds in Britain every year and such predation could be contributing to long-term declines of garden birds like House Sparrows.
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4 Goshawks poisoned in DevonDevon and Cornwall Police and the RSPB are appealing for information after four goshawks and one buzzard were found dead in woodland to the west of Exeter.
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First ospreys fledge at Cors Dyfi in over 400 yearsThis is the first time that ospreys have successfully bred on the Dyfi since 1604 and marks a milestone in the conservation of ospreys in Wales.
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Sei whale spotted off ScotlandAerial photos taken by a Scottish paramedic of a large whale between Islay and Gigha off the west coast of Scotland have intrigued international scientists on both sides of the Atlantic. On balance they believe the sighting is most likely to be of a very rare Sei whale.
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Second osprey pair breed successfully at Kielder WaterThe Northumbrian wilderness becomes the only location in England for over 170 years where more than a single pair of naturally re-colonising ospreys have bred successfully at the same time. The new birds have nested on an artificial platform erected by the Forestry Commission on top of a tall spruce tree.
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Fierce fire destroys Upton Heath wildlifeOn what will be remembered as a black day for wildlife, an estimated one third of one of the most important wildlife sites in England was devastated by fire. Dorset Wildlife Trust's Upton Heath nature reserve, recognised internationally for the extreme rarity of habitat and wildlife, was engulfed by the biggest heath fire in decades just at the peak of the bird and reptile breeding season.
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Leatherback turtle seen off ScotlandDuring a routine cetacean research survey, researchers and volunteers from the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust were treated to an unusual encounter between Skye and Harris when they spotted a massive Leatherback turtle, measuring about 1.5 metres.
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21 Fin whales spotted in Irish SeaOne of the largest ever known gatherings of Fin whales in British waters has recently been observed in the Celtic Deep, 50-70 nautical miles off the coasts of north Cornwall and south west Pembrokeshire.
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Top wildlife and bird watching in the South East
GARDENING FOR WILDLIFE
Lorraine Kelly launches the 'Wild about gardens' campaign in conjunction with the Royal Horticultural Society and the UK Wildlife Trusts. More.
Plants recommended for a wildlife garden
The RSPB and RHS have got together to create a list of plants recommended for wildlife gardening.See the full list.
The Book of Shells
We've all picked up a shell or two on the beach, but outside the very most common ones, we have no idea what we are handling. The glorious 652 page book will be able to answer that question for you, no matter where in the world you are.Read full review »
Top recommendations for wildlife watching activities in the UK.
- Five of the best seal-watching spots in Britain
- Click here to see the ten best National Trust butterfly sites.
- Where to see glow worms in the UK.
- Watch the deer rut this autumn with the National Trust.
- Best places to watch whales in the UK.
- National Trust Coastal Wildlife Walks.
- A Year of Wildlife Walks with the National Trust.
- National Trust's top wildlife walks.
Chris Packham's thoughts
Latest competitions
- UK wildlife photography competition.
- Enter the latest Wildlife Extra competition. Click here
British Moth ID
British Moths and Butterflies - A photographic guide
The book covers 1420 species of moth, 850 macros and 500 micros, as well as 314 caterpillars, pupae and eggs and 74 butterflies.Read full review »
Why is Herefordshire ignored by national conservation bodies? RSPB, we need you.
There are no RSPB reserves, no WWT reserves, and no National Parks. To my surprise, I have discovered that there are 3 National Nature Reserves in Herefordshire, covering just 200 hectares between them, but 2 of them are permanently closed to the public.
Why is Herefordshire ignored by national conservation bodies? RSPB, we need you.
Articles about the wildlife of the UK
- The best seal-watching spots in Britain
- Where to see the deer rut
- The Bottlenose dolphins of Scotland's west coast
- A visit to the Red kites of Gigrin Farm, near Rhyader in Wales
Where to Watch Birds in Britain - Second edition
The familiar format contains 34 new sites, giving a total of 454, now including 5 sites on the Isle of Wight. Each site now has a grid reference to aid those of you who are GPS dependent, and there is also a list of 100 birds you might want to see and the best places to see them.Read full review »
Great British Marine Animals - 3rd Edition
Many people think of the waters around Great Britain as cold, grey and fairly lifeless. This book will put you right (though noone can argue about the water temperature).Read full review »
Britain's butterflies
Comprehensive photo field guide to the butterflies of Britain.
Click Britain's Butterflies to find out more.
Butterflies
This isn't just a guide to British butterflies, it is a lot more. Matthew Oates is the National Trust's, and one of Britain's, leading experts. He fell in love with butterflies, and particularly the purple emperor, at an early age, and has been following them all around Britain ever since.
Highly recommended.
Read full review »
Garden wildlife photos
Having taken 2-3 photos, I walked back towards the office, but just before I reached the door, I notice something buzzing around in front of the flowers. The buzz was actually the hum of the very distinctive Hummingbird Hawkmoth, the first we have seen here.
A top 10 minutes.
Studying butterflies & moths
As the weather (eventually) warms up in spring, and the butterflies start to appear, how do we get youngsters more interested in the wildlife around us?Read full review »
England nature
Read about the nature of England, and see a guide to nature reserves in England.
Click here to see more about English Nature
