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Trees woods and wildlife

Pine, Scots

Towering in the glen, the Scots pine is a truly stunning tree. It is one of only three native conifers, and our only native pine. It’s the perfect home for iconic Scottish wildlife, such as the red squirrel, capercaillie, Scottish crossbill and the Scottish wildcat.

Trees woods and wildlife

Cocksfoot grass

Tenacious and hard to budge. When other grasses succumb to drought, cocksfoot can be relied on for its perseverance; its deep roots and dense, tussocky growth securing its survival.

Trees woods and wildlife

Sycamore

Familiar, romantic, sticky. Sycamore might have been introduced by the Romans or in the 1500s. Since then, it’s colonised woodland, becoming a source of food and shelter for wildlife including aphids that leave behind their tacky honeydew.

Trees woods and wildlife

Ringlet

With chocolate brown velvety wings and a delicate trim, the ringlet is an understated yet attractive butterfly. Look out for its trademark bobbing flight as it travels through woodland glades.

Trees woods and wildlife

Pine, black

Looming, handsome, graveyard-dweller. The black pine is common in shelterbelts, gardens and timber yards alike. Despite being huge, this non-native conifer isn’t a favourite with wildlife, though birds do enjoy its seeds.

Trees woods and wildlife

Fox

A born survivor with a bushy tail. Ever adaptable, the fox is equally at home in our woods or city streets. It sits top of the woodland food chain with a diet that takes in everything from birds and beetles to rabbits and rats.

Blog

Bird song identification: UK warblers

Every spring, trees and shrubs across the land burst into a riot of song from a famously musical group of birds - the warblers. Here we get to grips with their songs and how to tell them apart by sound alone.

Amy Lewis  •  11 Apr 2022

Trees woods and wildlife

Elm, wych

Decimated by Dutch elm disease, the sweeping and majestic wych elm is a much rarer sight these days. Its loss goes hand-in-hand with the decline of the elusive white-letter hairstreak butterfly, whose caterpillars rely on elm leaves.