The river lamprey is a primitive, jawless fish, with a round, sucker-mouth which it uses to attach to other fish to feed from them. Adults live in the sea and return to freshwater to spawn.

When spotting the pintail in winter, look out for the fabulous, long tail feathers that characterise it. This dabbling duck feeds at the water's surface, rather than diving for food.

The shy and retiring bittern is a master of blending in and can be very difficult to spot in its reedbed home. It does sound like a booming foghorn, however, when it calls, so can often be heard…

The mistle thrush likely got its name from its love of mistletoe - it will defend a berry-laden tree with extreme ferocity! It is larger and paler than the similar song thrush, standing upright…

Giants of the jellyfish world, these incredible creatures are the UK’s largest jellyfish! They can grow to the size of dustbin lids – giving them their other common name: dustbin-lid jellyfish.…

Bell heather is our most familiar heather. In summer, it carpets our heaths, woods and coasts with purple-pink flowers that attract all kinds of nectar-loving insects.

In May, our hedgerows burst into life as common hawthorn erupts with creamy-white blossom, colouring the landscape and giving this thorny shrub its other name of 'May-tree'.

Cross-leaved heath is a type of heather that likes bogs, heathland and moorland. It has distinctive pink, bell-shaped flowers that attract all kinds of nectar-loving insects.