The eel is famous for both its slippery nature and its mammoth migration from its freshwater home to the Sargasso Sea where it breeds. It has suffered dramatic declines and is a protected species…

With its prominent, wavy crest, the great crested newt, also known as the 'warty newt', looks like a mini dinosaur! This protected species favours clean ponds during the breeding season…

The common spotted-orchid is the easiest of all our orchids to see: sometimes, so many flowers appear together that they create a pale pink carpet in our woodlands, old quarries, dunes and marshes…

Like many of our birds of prey, the peregrine falcon was so persecuted, numbers fell dramatically. Thankfully, this super-speedy flyer is now making a comeback, particularly in our towns, where it…

The common squid is a weird and wonderful predator found all around our coasts.

This dainty seaduck is a winter visitor to our coasts, particularly in northern and eastern Scotland.

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,…

A common spider of heathland and grassland, the nursery web spider has brown and black stripes running the length of its body. It is an active hunter, only using its silk to create a protective…

This beautiful butterfly is one of our rarest, now mostly restricted to the western parts of the UK.

Our largest starfish, the spiny starfish can reach an impressive diameter of 70cm!