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Portway Hill, part of the Rowley Hills

The reserve boasts scarce plants, like the exotic Bee Orchid and the unusual hare's foot clover.
The reserve also boasts many important butterfly species, including one of the few colonies of Marbled White Butterflies in Birmingham and the Black Country. Portway Hill, which is part of the Rowley Hills, is one of our newest nature reserves. Just a few acres of grassland high on the Hills looking out over Sandwell, Birmingham and parts of Dudley
Nature Reserve

Portway Hill, part of the Rowley Hills

Colonies of rare butterflies and nesting birds make this site great for wildlife enthusiasts - but it is also internationally famous for the unusual onion skin weathering on basalt which was used…

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EcoRecord

Submit your local wildlife sightings and help Ecorecord to map and monitor the state of our region's biodiversity.
My Wild Life

My VIP pass

With her waterproof map on her wrist, Heather doesn’t have to splash out to go on safari. She gets exclusive access to Kimmeridge Bay’s secret world of ever-changing marine wildlife.

Species

Sea slater

These little critters are related to the woodlice you find in your garden and play a very important role on rocky shores.

Species

Common juniper

A sprawling, spiny evergreen, Common juniper is famous for its traditional role in gin-making. Once common on downland, moorland and coastal heathland, it is now much rarer due to habitat loss.…

Species

Southern wood ant

The most common wood ant is the southern wood Ant, or 'red wood ant', which is found in England and Wales. An aggressive predator, it plays a vital pest control role in our woodlands.…

Species

Hop

Well-known for its role in making beer, Hop is a climbing plant that can be seen in woodlands and along hedgerows and field edges. Its female flowers bear the cone-like fruit that is used in beer…

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The GREAT Bog Adventure!

The GREAT Bog Adventure! Are you brave enough to go in search of the giant caterpillar, stepping carefully over the sleeping crocodile – is that his back or is it the boardwalk? Pass trees with eyes that seem to follow you and branches that could reach out and make you JUMP! What kind of creature could be making those air bubbles in the gloopy green pond? How many sculptures on the map can you find?
How many birds can you spot? Woodpeckers, kestrels, buzzards, goldcrests, nuthatches, tree-creepers, tits, robins and finches are all around. Look out for signs of badgers, foxes, rats, rabbits and voles. Maybe you prefer minibeasts - can you find butterflies, caterpillars, bees, ladybirds, grasshoppers and spiders?
Species

Sphagnum moss

Sphagnum mosses carpet the ground with colour on our marshes, heaths and moors. They play a vital role in the creation of peat bogs: by storing water in their spongy forms, they prevent the decay…

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PondLife

Whether found in a garden or part of an agricultural landscape, ponds are oases of wildlife worth investigating. Even small ponds can support a wealth of species and collectively, ponds play a key role in supporting freshwater wildlife.
My Wild Life

My opening night

In the drama of the open spaces around her, Emily can play the role of a lifetime. She knows the wildlife of the nature reserve as intimately as Yorick knew Hamlet, and with an audience of birds,…