Is it Legal to Shoot Crows in the UK?
In the UK, controlling certain bird species, including crows, is governed by the General Licences—permissions issued by government agencies that allow for specific actions without the need for an individual licence.
These licences help manage bird populations in cases where they pose risks to public health, agricultural interests, or other wildlife. However, the legality of controlling birds under these licences varies between nations, with rules regularly reviewed to reflect conservation needs and legal requirements.
North Wales Foraging Courses – How to Choose
Foraging and Wild Food North Wales Foraging Courses in 2025 7th October 2024 The team behind Original Outdoors have a long connection with foraging, wild food and ethnobotany – and for over a decade we ran foraging and wild food courses in North Wales, both here in North East Wales and over on the Eryri/Snowdonia […]
Can I dig up Snowdrops?
If you plan on transplanting snowdrops from one location into another, the best time of year to do this is as the leaves are fading away or even gone entirely, this is after the bulb has absorbed the nutrients created by the leaves through photosynthesis
Can I pick Snowdrops?
Snowdrops are a beautiful, with their nodding white bell shaped flowers which secret away the intricately green lined centre underneath.
Why do Snowdrops grow in winter?
To many people the humble snowdrop is a sign of rebirth and overcoming obstacles in life, perhaps because of the difficulties they overcome in their short flowering period.
What can I do with Hawthorn Berries?
The fruits are easy to identify and collect in large quantities and can be used to make fruit leathers (another name for a fruit roll-up), a fruity jelly which is a good accompaniment to game meat, and even to flavour alcohols like gin and brandy.
Five fungi to look for in North Wales this Autumn
North Wales is a fantastic place to look for fungi, with a wide range of habitats and ideal climate. If you’ve been out to a local woodland, parkland or ungrazed grassland recently you have probably noticed some colourful mushrooms and other fungi scattered around. Although some species produce their visible fruiting bodies year round in the UK, Autumn is the prime time of year to go looking for fungi, especially after a drop in temperature and an increase in rainfall following a dry spell.
Why should I pick Sloes after the frost?
Sloes are ripe before the first frosts these days, but you can use a freezer to imitate the affect of a frost and have some infused gin ready for winter!
Blackthorn / Sloes – Prunus spinosa
Blackthorn is a deciduous shrub with edible flowers and edible berries which are called sloes. Very popular with foragers and lovers of sloe gin.
Robin’s Pincushion rose gall
Late summer into early autumn is peak season for observing the Robin’s Pincushion, a red and spiky gall around the size of a small plum which is found on dog rose (Rosa canina) and some other rose species. If you have been out foraging rose hips, or even just admiring the colour which is popping from the hedgerows here in the UK, you have possibly seen these intriguing growths on the wild rose stems. At one point I thought that they were just oddly developed flowers or fruits due to a genetic mutation or cross-pollination with local cultivars, but they are actually much more impressive than that.