SPECIES TO LOOK OUT FOR
Willow tit
No larger than a blue tit, a combination of a black cap and pale cheeks should eliminate every other species, other than marsh tit. The best way, in fact, to separate these two very similar relatives is by call. Willow tits have unfortunately been in decline for over 30 years, with the lack of dead wood and the drying out of wet woodlands the probable primary causes for the bird’s disappearance.
Siskin
Dinkier than greenfinches, siskins are attractive finches with a distinctively forked tail and a streaky yellow-green body. Despite preferring to breed in coniferous forests, the food on offer in wet woodland sites, particularly in northern and western Britain, is a considerable draw for these lively birds.
Water shrew
This bicoloured shrew often has a silvery appearance when under the water’s surface due to the fur’s ability to trap a layer of air. The head is also armed with sensitive bristles for detecting prey. Aquatic insect larvae, molluscs and crustaceans will also be subdued quickly by the shrew’s venomous saliva.
Yellow iris
By far our commonest iris, there can surely be no mistaking the green sword-like leaves shooting up to over a metre from the thick basal rhizomes, and branched stems adorned with rich yellow blooms. Flowering from
June onwards, this species is widespread across the UK in any damp area, such as along the margins of watercourses, and is also a mainstay in the herb layer of both fens and wet woodlands.
Coralroot orchid
Reaching no higher than 20cm, this much understated orchid is undoubtedly one of the stars of wet pine and birch woods in the Scottish Highlands, and so called as its root resembles a tiny fragment of coral reef. It is happiest emerging from sphagnum moss.