A key species in the story of conservation, the avocet represents an amazing recovery of a bird once extinct in the UK. This pied bird, with its distinctive upturned bill, can now be seen on…

The dense, spiky tufts of Marram grass are a familiar sight on our windswept coasts. In fact, its matted roots help to stabilise sand dunes, allowing them to grow up and become colonised by other…

A well known inhabitant of UK seas, common lobsters can reach up to 60cm in length.

There are several species of spider that live in our wetlands, but the water spider is the only one that spends its life under the water. In its pond habitats, it looks silvery because of the air…

This small, white heron is an increasingly common sight in parts of the UK as it spreads north from continental Europe.

The variable damselfly looks a lot like the azure damselfly, but is much less common throughout most of the UK.

The large white is a common garden visitor - look out for its brilliant white wings, tipped with black.

This glossy wading bird is a scarce visitor to the UK, though records have become more common in recent decades.

The common mussel is a familiar sight on shores all around the UK and is a favourite food of people, seabirds and starfish alike.

The ragworm is highly common on our shores, though rarely seen except by the fishermen that dig them up for bait.

A handsome gamebird, the pheasant is an introduced species that has settled here with little problem. It can be spotted in its farmland and woodland habitats, although you'll probably hear…