Environment

This beautiful photograph, taken by Ann Waller on West Furlong in Bishopsteignton, tells us much about the feeding habits and the sociability of this bird. The goldfinch is one of the most common garden birds in the UK; in fact, the goldfinches’ fondness for niger and sunflower seeds in garden bird feeders is seen as one of the reasons for their strong increase in population since 1995: monitoring between 1995 and 2023 showed an increase of 152%.

The common toad is one of only two toads native to the UK; the other toad is the natterjack, which is smaller than the common toad, much rarer, and tends to live in coastal areas, in sand dunes and sandy heaths. With photographs taken by Sally Murray, as she was preparing to clean out a plant pot in her garden near Ash Hill in Bishopsteignton,  here are some other things you may not know about English toads…

This beautiful caterpillar, photographed locally by Marilyn Hepworth in her garden, is the larva or child stage of the Privet Hawk-moth (or Sphinx ligustri). It was seen feeding on her lilac, although as its name suggests, the caterpillar is very fond of privet.

The fly agaric (Amanita muscaria) is native to the UK and one of the most easily recognisable fungi in the world,