Tag Archives: whiteknights

Bees in the grass

Every one loves bees these days and pretty much everyone loves bee orchids (Ophrys apifera) too! The University of Reading campus is no exception and there is a small population flourishing in purposefully unmown grass opposite the Hopkins Building and … Continue reading

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Breaking Ground

Behind the greenhouses in the Experimental Grounds is a patch of mostly bare ground that has clearly been well-trodden by naturalists over the past year or so. It’s the site where mousetail was rediscovered on campus last spring, and perhaps … Continue reading

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Another fungi foray

The Whiteknights campus is absolutely packed with excellent fungi this month. I’m out and about doing assignments almost everyday and I’ve had to add fungi forays to my list of new hobbies since beginning MSc Species ID and Survey Skills. … Continue reading

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Wings Over Whiteknights

Last week saw the completion of a landmark ornithological publication. That’s right, forget the national atlas project: we’re talking about  a new and hopefully fairly complete list of birds that have occurred on (or over) Whiteknights Campus! Joking aside, our … Continue reading

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Leaf-mining moths going conkers…

While strolling around the campus grounds, have you been wondering what’s happening to our horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum L., Sapindaceae) trees? Are those brown leaves really showing signs of an early autumn? These leaves are actually changing colour for a … Continue reading

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Campus Lake Part Three – Other Water Birds and Edge Species

The third and final part to my blogs on the bird species that can be found on the Whiteknights campus lake. Today, I am including the rest of the water birds which were sighted during the survey period, and some … Continue reading

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An introduction to the evolution of spiders

To fully appreciate the lives of spiders, which at first appear so far detached from our own, it is worth noting their fascinating evolutionary history. Did you know for example that, unlike insects, you can find spiders in the sea? … Continue reading

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In the lurch about silver birch?

Around campus there are many native British trees, including members of the Betulaceae or birch family.

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The Campus Lake

The lake at Whiteknights campus is one of my favourite places to walk; it is surrounded by a woodland border which shows a great diversity in plants, fungi and invertebrates as well as birds. In addition to the species I witnessed … Continue reading

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A Note On Some Interesting Species

It has been a hectic, tiring and very interesting few weeks! In my previous post, I explained that I was performing some bird surveys around campus to establish an idea of the biodiversity of the area. I have managed to … Continue reading

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