Sand and gravel
Sand and gravel can be found from the shoreline down to the deep sea, attracting a host of burrowing creatures.
Sand and gravel can be found from the shoreline down to the deep sea, attracting a host of burrowing creatures.
Surfaced spaces needn't exclude wildlife! Gravel can often be the most wildlife-friendly solution for a particular area.
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The raven is famous for being the imposing, all-black bird that guards the Tower of London. Wild birds live in forests, and upland and coastal areas in the north and west of the UK.
The Black-tailed skimmer is a narrow-bodied dragonfly that can be seen flying low over the bare gravel and mud around flooded gravel pits and reservoirs. It is on the wing from May to August.
While Brockholes focuses on wildlife in the form of birds, insects, and small mammals, you may have noticed on your travels that it is also home to a number of beautiful cows.
The fluffy, white seed heads of Traveller's-joy give it the evocative, alternative names of 'Old Man's Beard' and 'Father Christmas'. A clematis-like climber, it can…
This small duck is an uncommon winter visitor to the UK, where they're usually found on lakes, reservoirs and gravel pits.
The UK's smallest hawker, the Hairy dragonfly is mostly black in colour, but has a distinctively hairy thorax. It can be found in grazing marshes and flooded gravel pits, and along canals…
The tiny, brown-and-white sand martin is a common summer visitor to the UK, nesting in colonies on rivers, lakes and flooded gravel pits. It returns to Africa in winter.
The grayling is one of our largest brown butterflies and a master of disguise - its cryptic colouring helps to camouflage it against bare earth and stones in its coastal habitats and on inland…
The black poplar is a large tree of floodplains, flooded gravel pits and ditches, particularly in England. Despite being an important part of our culture for centuries, it has declined massively…