Wildlife Explorer
The landscape of Birmingham and the Black Country has a rich social, economic and natural heritage shaped by a complex history of rural, industrial, and more recent suburban and commercial land use. The wildlife is as varied and valuable as that of any other part of the United Kingdom.
The rare and the special are here, from scarce mammals like water voles and polecats to dragonflies and kingfishers, plus a huge variety of plant life, as documented in the trailblazing book ‘Flora of Birmingham and the Black Country’. Adding spice to this is an astounding mix of species reflecting the many peoples and trades that have come here from around the world – for example plants grown from Argentinian seeds, and African parakeets.
Wood sorrel
A delicate, small plant of woodlands and hedgerows, wood-sorrel has distinctive, trefoil leaves and white flowers with purple veins;…
Common ragwort
The yellow flower heads of common ragwort are highly attractive to bees and other insects, including the cinnabar moth.
Shag
Shag' is a very old name that means 'tufted' and refers to the small crest that this bird sports. Look out for it in…
Water-soldier
Water-soldier grows submerged in ponds and open water, and pops up over summer, looking like the top of a pineapple! This rare plant…
Yellow edged polycera
The UK is home to so many incredible sea slugs, like this elegant nudibranch.
Temperate rainforest
Luscious temperate rainforest once covered vast areas of the British Isles, but now only fragments remain in the west. These areas of…