Day 33 Is it a frog, is it a toad ........

It's the last weekend of the holidays so why don't you make the most of it and go outside, run around, feel the wind in your hair, the rain or sun on your face (you never know which it will be these days!), cartwheel on the grass and jump around!

If you're looking for somewhere to go, you could try Stockwood Open Space, with it's open grassland, woodland, hedges and ponds, it's a haven for wildlife and a playground for young adventurers. Look out for frogs, toads and newts around the ponds, particularly if it's wet when you go. Not sure how to identify a frog from a toad? Then use Froglife's identification guide to help you. Pondering over what type of newt you have found? Then check out the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation group's website to help clarify your smooth newt from your palmate newt.

If you explore the woodlands then keep your eyes open for tawny owl pellets. Owls, like other birds of prey, cannot digest all of their food so they compress the feathers, fur and bones of their prey in their gullet and regurgitate it as a pellet. Tawny owls, who like to live in the woods, produce grey, loosely packed pellets about the size of a thumb and these can be found below feeding spots such as a tree stump or fence post. If you do find one, soak it in a little water and prize it apart with a cocktail stick or toothpick. You can then be a detective and discover the bones of whatever little creature has been the owls last meal. It could be a vole or mouse, maybe a shrew or even a bat. A good guide to dissecting owl pellets can be found here, see how many animals your owl had for his tea. Did you know...that when tawny owls make their twit twoo sound, it's actually a male and female calling to each other?

Finally, why not take some photos or draw some pictures whilst your out and about, you could take them into school when you go back and tell your class all about your adventures. Hope you had a great holiday!

Day 31 Skylarks and adder's tongues...

If you go down to the woods today ........... you might just hear the wonderful song of a skylark, particularly if you are at Lower Woods in South Gloucestershire. Situated next to Inglestone Common with it's wonderful open grasslands, this area combines some very special habitats in a very small space. It's not just skylarks you may hear, but also chiff chaffs, song thrushes, willow warblers and blackcaps. Follow the links to the excellent RSPB site where you can hear the call of all these birds. If you have a smart phone, there's also a very good app called Birds UK that you can download which will help you to identify birds and their calls when you're out and about.

We recently took a class of students from Hawkesbury Upton primary school on an adventure here to discover the delights of the Common. Pupils learnt about the history of the common, identified some of the wildflowers, made tiny nature collages and learnt some native bird song, you can find some of the activities and games we played here.

Inglestone Common is one of only two places in the whole country where you can find the rare Adder's-tongue spearwort plant which grows on the edge of the seasonal pond.It is part of the buttercup family and particularly favours ponds that dry out and are trampled by livestock around the edge. The other known site is also in Gloucestershire.

Lower woods is also a lovely place to explore but bring your wellies as the woodlands rise out of damp, clay soil so can get very muddy, perfect for spotting animal tracks and trails. See if you can find deer, badger or hedgehog tracks.

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 29 Salty towers....

If you're planning a trip to the seaside then squeeze in a visit Walborough nature reserve and the adjacent Uphill Nature reserve, just south of the village of Uphill, near Weston Super Mare, for incredible views across the Severn Estuary. Climb up the winding stairs of the wonderful, small folly on top of the hill for panoramic views across the landscape of limestone grassland and salt marsh, a rich habitat containing nationally scarce plants such as sea barley, slender hare's-ear and sea clover. The grasslands are full of butterflies on a nice sunny day, including brown argus, grizzled and dingy skipper and grayling, so see how many different ones you can find!

Take a wander around the old Norman church, overlooking the sea, dating from AD1080 and choose one of the many walks available to really explore the site. Make a pack of wildcards to play whilst you have a picnic and enjoy the sounds of wildlife all around. After your walk you could visit the little sandy beach near to the boatyard in Uphill. See what treasures you can find that have been washed up from the sea and see if you can make a beautiful castle in the sand.

Day 28 Have a hoot at Portbury Wharf

Visit our wonderful nature reserve at Portbury Wharf tonight for an evening walk with the warden, Bernie D'arcy for a chance to see owls, bats, foxes, and perhaps even a water vole.You'll need to book a place but the walk is free to everyone. Craig Vale said of the last walk: "thanks to Bernie for a lovely evening, we were even lucky enough to see some owls in flight." 

Portbury Wharf is unusual in that it was created as a condition of planning permission being granted for the adjoining Port Marine housing development. Bernie D'arcy (warden) and Neil Hutton (community officer) were employed in 2010 and work on the reserve to maintain and develop the wetlands habitat for wildlife and provide opportunities for the wider community to discover and learn more about the reserve. Large pools, ditches, marshland and of course, the estuary, provide invaluable habitats for species such as water voles and otters, migrating birds and invertebrates including the rare, hairy dragonfly.

Find out more about all the different species that can be found at this lovely wetlands reserve here, find out about the fantastic breeding barn owls here and follow Portbury Wharf on facebook to get news about family events, wildlife sightings and more.

Day 27 Follow the trail around Weston Big Wood

For a fantastic Bank holiday Monday walk visit our nature reserve at Weston Big Wood which has a waymarked trail leading you around the reserve.Check out our virtual tour first and then pack some paper and crayons and take rubbings of the carved wooden posts you discover along the way. Whilst exploring the woodlands see how many things you can find on our scavenger hunt or download a woodland logbook from the Woodland Trust to keep you busy.

Use our guide to the reserve to find out what to look for at different times of the year and make sure you take time to just stand very quietly occasionally and listen to the wildlife going on around you.

Day 26 Get on your bike

If you haven't discovered it yet the Bristol to Bath cycle path is fantastic, family friendly place to take a closer look at nature. At this time of year the route is full of wild foods, from blackberries to damsons, and apples to elderberries.The flat, traffic free path is an ideal place to take a first bike ride or for those more experienced, to get all the way to Bath from Bristol (or visa versa) stopping at the old railway station cafe on route for refreshments. If I have any left when I get home I love making blackberry muffins with my foraged finds.You can access the cycle path at many points along the route which has been photographed in both directions. Stop off along the way with a picnic and investigate the hedgerows, use the OPAL biodiversity survey to help you identify the different plants that might be growing in them.

Day 25 Be a ladybird detective

Take a trip to your local park, or even just go out into your garden and see how many types of ladybird you can find. Use our spotter sheet to help you identify the different species and discover the variety of colours and markings on ladybirds that can be found in your neighbourhood. There are 46 different species of ladybird living in Britain, you can find out more and even play some ladybird themed games here

However, watch out for the Harlequin ladybird. This is an invasive species and is a danger to our native ladybirds, out competing them for food and spreading across the country rapidly. You can learn more about all the ladybirds to be found in the UK and how the Harlequin ladybird came to be here in this short video. You can also do your bit to help by participating in the Harlequin ladybird survey.

happy hunting!

Day 24 Go wild on the bus

Fancy a little tour of the some of the best sites in Bristol? Then download our Wildbus podcast and hop onto the number 40 bus, which runs from the city centre to Cribbs causeway. You can hop on or off the bus along the route and discover Avon Gorge and Downs, Blaise castle estate, Lawerence Weston Moor and Lawrence Weston city farm. Listen to stories and memories along the way, find out about the wildlife that inhabits the city and discover how wildlife film maker, Simon King's childhood explorations around Sea Mills shaped his future career.

Day 23 Go batty and have a great night out

Have you experienced the magic out walking through a wood at dusk and coming across a bat as it darts around the twilight sky in search of its supper? Did you know that if you live in South Gloucestershire, you can visit your local library and pick up a bat audio trail pack with a bat detector and all the information you need to go out exploring one of the bat audio trails created by South Gloucestershire Council's Wild Roots and Wildways Projects.

There are four award winning trails in Hanham, Warmley, Wick and Willsbridge and you can download guides to the trails here and a trail pack, with information about how to use the bat detector and more information about bats in general, here.

If you love all things batty, then take a look at our Bats for Bath website, this contains a podcast for our Browns Folly nature reserve which has a series of old mines, providing a fantastic winter roosting spot for several species of bat. Take a walk around the site and discover what makes it a valuable home to bats, learn about the importance of the species rich grasslands that provide so much food for the 12 species of bat that live here.

Finally, did you know....... that if we had ears as big as the long eared bat, they would reach down to our waists! 

Day 22 - Secret trails, tree climbing and mini dens

Summer is a great time to go exploring with your friends! Have a look on our website to find a nature reserve near you, or try the Visit Woods site to discover somewhere new to go. There are lots of things you can do when out and about in a wild place, try making a trail to a summer treasure or find a large tree to climb. When you are hidden amongst the leaves, sit really quietly and look around, the quieter you are the more wildlife you will see. Imagine being a baby bird in a nest or a spider building a web or even a caterpillar nibbling away at a leaf.

All creatures need air, water, food and shelter so why not build a mini shelter for an imaginary creature of the woods, using sticks, leaves, moss,and anything else you can find. See if you can camouflage it at the base of a tree or under a large fern perhaps, to keep your creature safe from predators. Get your friend to make one too and then compare the two. Did you create luxury accommodation or a budget hostel?

Day 21 Deer walk

Book now for tomorrow's deer walk at Ashton Court, just 2 miles from Bristol city centre, for a chance to go on a guided walk with one of the estate rangers through the deer parks of this lovely estate. Pre-booking is essential through the Estates office on 0117 9639 174 where details of where to meet will also be given. The walk costs £2 per person and will give you the chance to see both fallow deer and red deer within the 850 acres of woodland and meadows of the estate.

The red deer is our largest land mammal, they have reddish brown coats and the males have large, branched antlers. The antlers start to develop at around 10 months of age and are shed annually in March and April. The mating season, known as the rut, is an impressive wildlife spectacle, occurring in the Autumn. The male deer, stags roar loudly, sizing up other males to gain access to the females. Conflict can result in serious injury or even death. Antlers were used as hunting trophies and carved to make early jewellery and buttons.  and continues to be used to make handles for anything from hunting knives to walking sticks

After your walk enjoy the views across Bristol and explore Ashton Court meadow, Avon Wildlife Trust's nature reserve, then head back to town across the famous Clifton Suspension bridge.

Day 21 Folly Farm Centre

For a full wildlife safari, take a trip to the Chew Valley for some stunning landscapes and wonderful walks. Start off at Chew Valley lake where you can follow the nature trails around the water's edge, full leaflets are available to download for both the Grebe trail and the Bittern trail. Walk through the wildflower meadows and shady woodlands to the bird hide and get a spectacular view across the water to Denny island where you can use our spotter sheet to look for summer waders. Then refuel in the cafe at the car park before heading off to explore the fantastic nature reserve at Folly farm. 

Well recommended is a circular walk through the woodlands up to Round Hill for spectacular views over the Chew Valley and back through the wildflower meadows. Discover the historic landscape of the ferme ornée with it's restored cascades and, later on, find the badger watching spot on the Access for All trail and wait for the badgers to come out foraging at dusk. A truly magical end to the day.

Day 20 Feed Bristol

Feed Bristol is Avon Wildlife Trust's exciting new food growing project on 7 acres of beautiful land buzzing with wildlife in Stapleton, Bristol. It's a great place to discover how to grow food whilst getting close to nature. Today is one of their regular communal growing days where you can get the chance to learn some new skills and explore the site. Volunteers are welcome from 11 - 4 and all ages are welcome. See if you can find the giant badger, go for a walk along the woodland trail and discover the bird hide hidden in an apple tree. The pollination corridors are a haven for butterflies and bees, deer live in the woods and bats roost in the old barn.The site has full facilities and Matt, the project leader will make you feel very welcome. The best thing is that everyone who gets involved can take some fresh, tasty organic, food home with them too.

You can email or phone 0117 9177270 to confirm your visit or find out more.

Day 19 Willsbridge Mill

Willsbridge Mill is a beautiful wooded river valley situated between Bristol and Bath. It's a great place for a walk, take some paper and a thick crayon so you can do some brass rubbings along the heritage trail which takes you around the valley.

Before you go though 'Unlock the Mystery of Willsbridge Mill' on our interactive website and find out about it's industrial past and take a look at Mike Dimery's wildlife diary to get a taste of what you might see on your visit. If you have a close look around the wildlife pond you might even be able to find some empty skin cases of the dragonfly nymphs that have crawled up the iris's before climbing out of their skin, spreading their wings and flying off as adults.

Dragonfly nymphs are predators of the pond, eating many of the small invertebrates that also inhabit this aquatic environment. Some species spend up to five years living in the water, shredding their skin several times as they grow. They are pretty ugly looking creatures too. take a look here.

Day 18 Street art, old castles, flower barges and picnics

Wow, there's so much going on today in Bristol that you'll need a whole day out to explore it all. So, pack a picnic and head on down to Bristol city centre. First stop should be Castle Park, original site of Bristol castle before it was demolished by Oliver Cromwell. Look for remains of the keep and curtain wall of the C11 Bristol Castle at the north east end of the park. There are also seven Silver Birch trees in memory of the seven beaches of the D-Day landings - see if you can find them all. Much of the park was bombed during the blitz of November 1940 and all that remained was the ruins of the churches of St Peter and St Mary le Port.

Today, Castle park is a great refuge from the hustle and bustle of the city centre and a great place to watch the river. Look out for the 'Ballast Seed garden', a fantastic art project created by Brazillian artist Maria Thereza Alves. Seeds that had been contained in the ballast of boats and had travelled from all over the world, were dumped in the river from 1680 to early 1900's. Maria has managed to collect and sow these seeds to create a magnificent floating garden. 
Whilst you enjoy this original art project use this river birds spotter guide to see how many different birds you can find and then search for a quiet spot to enjoy your picnic. 

Once you've had a good look round head down to Nelson Street and be amazed by the See No Evil street art project. This weekend sees a selection of the world’s best street artists creating a huge outdoor gallery. In addition, science students from Bristol University will be adding their own creations, creating artworks that depict their research topics.

Day 17 Geocaching

Now this is something that I enjoy doing with my own children, you do need a smart phone and it's best if you have the geocaching app but it is so much fun. If you've never tried it, imagine a treasure hunt that covers the whole world but has little gifts everywhere, quite possibly within walking distance from your house. All you need to do is to go to the website, put in your postcode and a map will show you where to look for the nearest geocache.

The idea is that you find the cache (often a small plastic tub), sign in the book, take a little gift and leave a small treasure of your own for the next person. Once you get started you will be hooked! There's lots of variations too, such as 'trackers', these travel from cache to cache and their journey gets logged online so that you can see how far they go.

Try it out, there's loads just in Bristol and Bath city centres so you can make a whole day out of it and get to see some great sites too.

A successful find!

Day 16 - Snail hunt

Did you know there are around 90 different species of land snail in the UK? There are hairy ones, flat ones, stripey ones and tiny ones. Download this spotter sheet and see how many different ones you can find in your garden, local park or even in your street. They like to hide in cool, damp places so you may have to look hard. If the weather is too hot and dry they can stay in their shells for months and often camouflage themselves in gaps in walls. 

Snails have four tentacles; two are eyes and two are for feeling, they only have one foot and a tongue known as a radula that is covered in tiny 'teeth' . As you probably know they love to eat plants, particularly nice soft ones like lettuce and spinach. But beware, studies have shown that snails have a homing instinct, so the next time you throw one over the garden fence to stop it eating your plants - watch out because it may just come back! 

  

The reason that there are so many is probably because they lay about 100 eggs in an underground nest and most snails are hermaphrodite (both mail and female) so nearly all can lay eggs.

Happy snail hunting!

And if you are still a fan of snails you can download this poster from the Woodland Trust.

Day 10 - WildAbout play scheme

If you're aged 8-12 don't forget to book a place on next week's forest school play scheme in association with Bristol Zoo, so that you can properly get out into the wilds and have some fun. WildAbout hosts summer holiday activities in a beautiful, secluded, private woodland on the outskirts of Bristol. Get creative with nature and make clay creatures, musical instruments and dream catchers. Learn woodland skills such as firecraft and spoon whittling, build a den and then cook your lunch over an open fire.

The play scheme runs all week, starting from August 13 and booking is essential. For more info email Jackie Roby or call 0117 974 7354.

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