Goldfinch, Carduelis carduelis. A highly coloured finch with a bright red face and yellow wing patch. Sociable, often breeding in loose colonies, they have a delightful liquid twittering song and call. Their long fine beaks allow them to extract otherwise inaccessible seeds from thistles and teasels. Increasingly they are visiting birdtables and feeders. In winter many UK goldfinches migrate as far […]
Goose grass, Galium aparine. This plant has many, many names such as Cleavers, Sticky willie, Stick-a-back or Kisses because of its clingy nature. The hooks on its fruit attach to animals to help disperse its seeds. Popular with foragers for making Cleaver water/juice. Photo: Stephen Middleton WT
Gorse, Ulex europaeus. Gorse is closely related to the brooms, and like them, has green stems and very small leaves and is adapted to dry growing conditions. Between the different species, some gorse is almost always in flower, hence the old country phrase: “When gorse is out of blossom, kissing’s out of fashion”. Gorse flowers have a distinctive coconut scent, experienced […]
Great spotted woodpecker, Dendrocopos major. Blackbird-sized and striking black-and-white. It has a very distinctive bouncing flight and spends most of its time clinging to tree trunks and branches, often trying to hide on the side away from the observer. Its presence is often announced by its loud call or by its distinctive spring ‘drumming’ display. The male has a distinctive red […]
Great tit, Parus major. The largest UK tit – green and yellow with a striking glossy black head with white cheeks and a distinctive two-syllable song. It is a woodland bird which has readily adapted to man-made habitats to become a familiar garden visitor. It can be quite aggressive at a bird table, fighting off smaller tits. In winter it joins […]
Green alkanet, Pentaglottis sempervirens. Flowering in early spring but staying through the summer months, it’s a popular plant for bees, Green alkanet has beautiful little bright blue, white throated flowers. Its pointed oval leaves are covered in stiff little hairs which are slightly prickly to the touch. WT. Photo: Stephen Middleton
Green-veined white, Pieris napi. It is found in meadows, hedgerows and woodland glades but not as often in gardens and parks like its close relatives the Large and Small Whites, for which it is often mistaken.The so-called green veins on the underside of the adults are, in fact, an illusion created by a subtle combination of yellow and black scales.
Greenfinch, Carduelis chloris. Its twittering and wheezing song, and flash of yellow and green as it flies, make this finch a truly colourful character. It is a regular garden visitor, able to take advantage of food in urban gardens. Although quite sociable, they may squabble among themselves or with other birds at the bird table. Populations declined during the late […]
Grey wagtail, Motacilla cinerea. The species looks similar to the yellow wagtail but has the yellow on its underside restricted to the throat and vent. The grey is associated with its back and head. Breeding males have a black throat. They are usually seen on open marshy ground or meadows capturing ground insects. Like other wagtails, they frequently wag their tail. On […]
Groundsel, Senecio vulgaris, Also known as ‘Old-man-in-the-spring’. The seed heads led to its Latin name, Senecio, derived from the word for ‘old man’ – pull the white, fluffy seeds from the flower head and they leave behind a bare, dotted ‘scalp’.
