Find A Forest On Your Phone

Forestry Commission England has launched a free iPhone app to help us find woodlands, download handy trail maps or learn about trees with an easy to use tree identifier.

Users of the app can apparently search for sites by event or activity, or find basic information such as opening times, things to do, directions and contact details for Forestry Commission forest parks.

Described as 'an educational and fun app' it includes a photo gallery, UK common tree identifier and unique computer generated tree illustrations. Users can identify a tree using its bark, seed or leaf within just a few clicks.

Visitors can also download pdf trail maps via GPS so that the app can still be used when exploring amongst the trees and out of phone signal range.

Find out more at www.forestry.gov.uk/mobileapp or download the app from iTunes - http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/forestxplorer/id428559042?mt=8

Discover Eco Wales

Your Welsh wildlife watching could include seeing an amazing red kite.

Wales is a great place for a eco friendly and/or wildlife friendly holidays and the Wild & Green Escapes website has loads of info on eco friendly and nature friendly holiday accommodation from which you can explore this stunning country and enjoy a spot of Welsh wildlife watching too.

Early Start For Dawn Chorus Fans In Lincolnshire

Nature lovers are being invited into the forest at the crack of dawn to enjoy bird song at its most bewitching.

The Forestry Commission is staging a dawn chorus walk through 360 hectare (900 acre) Chambers Farm Wood, near Wragby, Lincs, on Sunday 1st May, setting out at 4.30am.

Birds often sing through the night but the peak is reached soon after dawn. Rangers will use hi-tech recording equipment to capture the sound.

The two hour walk over gentle terrain costs £5 and meets at Chambers Farm Wood Centre, signed off the B1202 Wragby to Bardney road. Booking is required on 01623 822447. For more information Lincolnshire’s woods and wildlife log-on to www.forestry.gov.uk/eastmidlands

Early Birds Invited To Enjoy Dawn Chorus

Dawn Chorus Event In Yorkshire

The Forestry Commission is inviting early birds to a dawn chorus event in North Yorkshire's Dalby Forest on saturday May 7th.

Experts say the dawn chorus is made up of thousands of battle songs by males defending territories and invitations to females to pay a call.

Recreation manager Cath Brason said: “We've organised the walk as part of International Dawn Chorus Day. Every dawn chorus is unique and the absence of traffic noise in Dalby adds to the bewitching effect.”

The walk will be up to four miles long, including hilly sections, and booking is required on 01751 472771. It costs £10 including a bacon butty and refreshments in Dalby Forest Visitor Centre. 

Dawn is the best time to sing because the air is generally calmer and sound transmission is good. A dawn song is thought to be 20 times more effective than singing at midday.

Earth Day

Discover Earth Day

Tomorrow (April 22nd) is Earth Day an international call for us all to do more to look after the planet we live on. Visit the Earth Day website for details, ideas and inspiration on all things green!

Special Offer On Wildlife Watching Holiday

Glenloy Wildlife Holidays Special Offer

Glenloy Wildlife provide top wildlife watching holidays in the Western Highlands of Scotland. According to their website they are currently offering £100 off per person on a 7 night holiday between 7th and 14th May.

For details visit either:
* Glenloy
* Wild & Green Escapes

Concern Over Wildlife Laws

Have Your Say On Laws Which Protect Wildlife & Countryside

As reported by 38 degrees:

Yesterday, it was revealed that the government might scrap vital laws which protect wildlife and the countryside and help stop climate change. Hardliners have branded the rules ‘red tape’ and say they could be scrapped within months. [1]

We need to work together to make sure our wildlife, our countryside and our planet are protected.

In the past, David Cameron has made headlines promising to run "the greenest government ever". [2] We need to convince him that scrapping these laws would be a disaster for his reputation. A huge petition will prove to Cameron that he can't afford to break his green promises.

Please take 30 seconds to speak up for legal protection for wildlife and the environment:
http://www.38degrees.org.uk/page/m/74c05b4b/2d4cf353/59e93dc5/4674c55a/2179434391/VEsF/

Among the laws under threat are the Climate Change Act and the Wildlife and Countryside Act. These aren’t little-known laws that no one cares about. The Wildlife and Countryside Act protects wild birds, their nests and eggs, and makes sure that national parks and marine reserves are protected. The UK’s Climate Change Act was a world first which helps make sure we reduce our emissions. [3]

We know that when we work together we can make sure the government doesn’t get away with plans which could hurt the environment. When they decided to try to sell off our forests, over half a million of us got together and convinced them to drop their plans. [4]

The government says it is "consulting" before scrapping these laws - so let's give them a consultation response they can't ignore! Please help make sure we have a huge petition telling the government to keep laws which protect our wildlife and our environment.

Sign the petition to send a powerful message to David Cameron and the government:
http://www.38degrees.org.uk/page/m/74c05b4b/2d4cf353/59e93dc5/4674c55a/2179434391/VEsC/

Capercaille Wildlife Watching

RSPB Caper Watch Event @ Loch Garten

The RSPB are running a Caper-Watch event through until May 15th where you can go along to the Loch Garten Nature Reserve near Boat of Garten in the Scottish Highlands to view the male capercaillies trying to impress the females!

Be warned - this event does involve a very early start to the day!

For details of this amazing wildlife watching opportunity visit the Loch Garten RSPB website

Otter Spotting

Otter Exploration Event

As part of the Dumfries & Galloway Wildlife Festival you can join an Otter Exploration event on Thursday April 21st.

The event will involve searching for signs of otters along the River Cairn from Newbridge in Dumfries & Galloway.

Booking essential, call Tom Henry on 07702 250958.

The Dumfries & Galloway Wildlife Festival runs until April 25th. For details of other events visit the festival's website at: http://www.wildlifefestival.org.uk/

Wildlife Courses in Sussex

Learn All About Wildlife & Habitats In Sussex

The Sussex Wildlife Trust runs all-year-round mini courses where you can learn all about numerous types of wildlife, flowers and habitats; courses on offer include:

* Intro to wildflowers
* Sussex bird safari
* Basic bushcraft
* Nature photography
* Intro to birdsong

.... and many, many more.

For details of dates and how to book go to the Sussex Wildlife Trust website

Red Kite Chicks Update

Grizedale Forest’s Red Kite Chicks Update

It's been reported that most of the red kite chicks released by the Forestry Commission in the Lake District's Grizedale Forest last summer have survived the harsh winter.

Wildlife rangers believe that around 20 of the 30 birds that were released in the first year of a three-year reintroduction programme made it through the winter and are still in Cumbria or nearby counties.


The Forestry Commission estimates that between five and eight red kites are living in and around the Grizedale and Rusland valleys in South Lakeland, with another three to five birds in the Kirkby Moor area, near Ulverston.


Four more Grizedale red kites have been spotted by RSPB experts at feeding stations in Dumfries and Galloway – the furthest known movement is by the bird tagged as number four, which has flown 120km north west into Scotland.

Red kites, which are coloured rust red and have white patches under their wings, are scavengers that feed primarily on carrion – dead animals. The Grizedale programme is the ninth reintroduction of red kites into different regions of the UK, and the final phase of re-introductions in England.


This year’s birds will hatch in May and be brought up to Grizedale around late June ready for release in August. A special advisory group has been established, containing bird experts from organisations like Natural England, the RSPB, Cumbria Raptor Study Group and the British Association of Shooting and Conservation, to help ensure the project’s success.


For more information about Grizedale Forest please visit www.forestry.gov.uk/grizedale

Enjoy A West Coast Sunset

Chill Out With Stunning Sunset Scenery

Sunsets on the West Coast of the UK can be truly amazing as Wild & Green recently discovered in Dumfries & Galloway. It's great to take half an hour out of the day and just sit in the garden or on a beach and watch the sun go down - truly relaxing.

Spring Birds Walk

Easter Wildlife Watching Event

Cornwall Wildlife Trust are running a series of Easter wildlife watching events including a Spring Birds Walk on April 16th at Churchtown Farm Community Nature Reserve, Saltash.

For more info go to their website http://www.cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk/ and select 'What's on'

UK Canoe Safari

Go Wildlife Watching From A Canoe

As part of the Dumfries & Galloway Wildife Festival you can go on a Canoe Safari on Tuesday 19th April. You'll be able to join a local ranger and the Nithsdale Canoe Club for a wildlife watching trip down the River Nith looking out for wildfowl, kingfishers and even otters.

For more details and to book a place call Tom Henry on 07702 250958

Discover The Seasons

Phenology... What's That?
The RSPB Dungeness Nature Reserve will be helping people to discover all about phenology (the timing of natural events, such as when certain bird species arrive in UK, when bluebells appear, first daffodils, sound of first cuckoo in spring) from 9th April to 1st May at the Dungeness nature reserve between 10am and 3pm each day.

For more details visit the RSPB website and select events, call 01797 320588 or email: dungeness@rspb.org.uk

Easter Wildlife Watching Events In Cornwall

St Agnes Marine Discovery Day

The Cornwall Wildlife Trust are running some great UK wildlife watching events over the Easter holidays including on April 15th a St Agnes Marine Discovery Day with the chance to go rockpooling and see marine life rescue demonstrations.

For more details visit http://www.cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk/

Ospreys Back In Galloway

Wildlife Watching: Osprey Event In Scotland

Join the local ranger service on an event to welcome ospreys back to Galloway in Scotland for a new season.

This event, which includes reviewing previous osprey season footage, will take place in Wigtown at the Wigtown Bay Visitor Centre on Saturday 16th April between 10am and 4pm. The event is part of the Dumfries & Galloway Wildlife Festival which runs from April 2nd to 25th.

For more information on the ospreys event call 01988 402401 or email: rangers@dumgal.gov.uk

Bird Calling For Beginners

Learn To Recognise Bird Call

As part of the Dumfries & Galloway Wildlife Festival which runs from 2nd to 25th April you can attend an event 'Bird Calls For Beginners' on Sunday 10th April. Cost is £5 per person. Meet at Clatteringshaws Visitor Centre in the Galloway Forest.

For more details or to book places on this event call 01671 402420

It's Bluebell Time

Don’t Miss Beautiful Bluebells In Bloom   

April is the start of bluebell season and the Forestry Commissin has just announced its top ten forests and woodlands for enjoying these beautiful flowers:

1. West Woods in Lockeridge, Marlborough 
2. Silk Wood, Old Arboretum, Westonbirt Arboretum
3. Wombwell Woods, Barnsley
4. Grizedale Forest, North West England
5. Idless Woods, Cornwall
6. Bedgebury Pinetum, Kent
7. Oversley Wood, near Alcester in Warwickshire
8. Shrawley Wood, near Stourport on Severn in Worcestershire
9. Hagg Wood, Dunnington, near York
10. Pondhead Inclosure, near Lyndhurst, New Forest

Details on where to find these woodlands can be found on the Forestry Commission website.

Pam Warhurst, Forestry Commission Chair, said: “The ideal time to see bluebells is in late April and May and the Forestry Commission is proud to boast some of the best areas to see them. We would also like people to share their photos and experiences of being surrounded by one of Britain’s best-loved spring flowers. Log on to http://www.facebook.com/#!/forestry.commission.england to get involved.”