One of our largest ducks, the shelduck is a handsome creature with a dark green head, red bill and chestnut-brown band across its white body. Look out for it around most of our coastline,…

The small, shaggy-furred whiskered bat roosts in all sorts of houses, old or modern. It is similar to the Brandt's bat and they often roost together, but in separate colonies. It feeds along…

The hairy-footed flower bee can be seen in gardens and parks in spring and summer, visiting tubular flowers like red dead-nettle and comfrey. As its name suggests, it has long, orange hairs on its…

Have you ever stopped to look at the shape of a spider web? Garden spiders spin a spiral shaped web, perfect for catching lots of juicy prey!

A familiar black bird of our lakes, ponds and rivers, the moorhen is widespread; look out for its large and untidy-looking nest on the water in spring. It can be distinguished from the similar…

This unmistakeable moth, famous for its skull-shaped marking, is a rare visitor to the UK.

Traditionally a coastal species, Lesser sea-spurrey has spread inland, taking advantage of the winter-salting of our roads. Its pink-and-white flowers bloom in summer.

A creeping and climbing plant of cultivated ground, Field Bindweed can become a pest in places as it stops other plants from growing. It has creamy, sometimes striped, large flowers, and arrow-…

Have you ever seen those dark red jelly blobs whilst rockpooling? These incredible creatures are beadlet anemones! They live attached to rocks all around the coast of the UK, the base of their…

This little fish is found in rockpools during the summer months and has a clever adaptation that stops it being swept away by strong waves - their pelvic fins are fused to form a sucker that it…