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Trees woods and wildlife

Serotine bat 

One of the largest British bats, the serotine has a taste for beetles and other flying insects. Listen for the squeaking sound it makes just before emerging at dusk to hunt.

Blog

Broadleaf summer issue: here comes the sun

Summer is here and the woodlands are breezy, bright and bursting with colour. In this issue of Broadleaf, we tend veteran trees in the Midlands, hunt for pine martens in Scotland and unfurl the extraordinary tale of the familiar foxglove.

Elisabeth Crump  •  10 Jun 2025

Video

How gifts in wills have made a difference: Smithills Estate

A third of all the work we do is made possible by gifts in wills. The Woodland Trust's Tracey Garrett explains how important this support is to help our work at places like Smithills Estate - a landscape we're restoring to benefit both wildlife and local people. 

00:02:12

Trees woods and wildlife

Collared earthstar

The star of the show in broadleaf woodland, this charming fungus would look at home at the bottom of the sea..

Trees woods and wildlife

Beechwood sickener

Toxic, brittle, red-capped. Beechwood sickener is only found in beech woodland and help beech trees take up nutrients from the soil.

Trees woods and wildlife

Brambling

Winter visitors with a taste for nuts. Flocks of brambling head to the UK each year, escaping the Scandinavian snow and taking advantage of the food on offer in our woods.

Trees woods and wildlife

Holly blue

A delicate holly-lover with some unsavoury tastes. Find the holly blue on its foodplant in woodland, or feeding on juices from rotting fruit or carrion.