Day 30 - Wildlife in the City with wagtails, toxic plants, eco homes and common mouse-ear

You may think that Bristol city is generally full of noisy traffic, man made buildings and lots of people but use our wildlife walk around the city to explore a different side to urban life. Discover hemlock water dropwort along the old dock walls, it's the most toxic plant in Britain and is also known scarily as Dead Man's fingers. See if you can find the hart's tongue fern, named after the old English name for a deer (hart) and said to represent the deer's tongue which hangs out after death. Look too, for the pellitory-of-the-wall, not a particularly distinctive plant but an important food source for the red admiral butterfly. Away from the river, lurking amongst the grass, you can find the wonderfully named mouse-ear hawkweed, which looks a bit like a dandelion and extracts of which are said to have anti bacterial qualities. See if you can also find bird's foot trefoil, with it's pretty yellow and orange flower and another very important food source for butterflies.

It's not only amazing plants that you can discover on this walk, look out for otter footprints, butterflies, slow worms and a whole range of invertebrates, such as shield bugs, grasshoppers and crickets in the grasslands too.The river is also an important habitat for bird life and if you're lucky you may well spot a cormorant or heron, the black and white pied wagtail, ducks, swans and lesser black baked gulls.

If you fancy a break from all this wildlife spotting, why not visit the Create centre on route. They have a great eco home for you to look round, full of suggestions on how to make your own house more environmentally friendly and a lovely wildlife garden too. There is currently an architecture exhibition on called Retrofit City, looking at the green use of buildings around Bristol, plus an exhibition examining Bristol's green history

If all this wildlife has inspired you then download Bristol's Big Wildlife Map to discover more wonderful places to explore nature around the city centre and beyond. You could write your own blog to let your friends and family know what you've been up to on your adventures (and if you do, be sure to let us know about it too!).

Day 15 : Gorge-ous Goats

Quick preview of tomorrow's Summer Wildlife Safari for those who'd like to book up:

There's more to the Avon Gorge than meets the eye, it's most recent hairy residents have been brought in especially to manage the wild grasses and help with the conservation of fragile habitats. So grab a packed lunch and go visit the Gorge-eous Goats on Thursday the 16th of Aug at Bristol Zoo Gardens and the Downs from 10 - 3.30pm. Suitable for 8-12 yr olds, booking essential, further details available here.
There will also be games and the chance to make a felt picture.

Even if you think you know the Avon Gorge and the Downs it's well worth taking a fresh look. You can explore this designated international Special Area of Conservation with one of these illustrated wildlife trails which highlight all the rare plants and animal species we're have right here in Bristol.