My perspective
Ben grew up at the Naze paddling in the sea and looking for sharks’ teeth. After graduation, he returned to the landscape he loves to help local people experience the wonders of the natural world…
Chwilio
Speckled wood butterfly - Vicky Nall
Chwilio
Plast Off! Beach Clean 2026
Some of our young volunteers reflect on yet another successful annual Plast Off Beach Clean and what the event means to them.
Farmland
Farmland can conjure up rural images of brown hares zig-zagging across fields, chattering flocks of finches and yellowhammers singing from thick, bushy hedges and field margins studded with…
Serrated wrack
This brown seaweed lives in the lower shore and gets its name from the serrated edges to its fronds.
Tufted duck
This comical little duck lives up to its name – look out for the black tuft of feathers on its head!
Atlantic salmon
The Atlantic salmon spends most of its life at sea, but makes an epic journey back to the river or stream in which it hatched to spawn. Look out for it in freshwater rivers in the north and west…
Barnacle goose
The black-and-white barnacle goose flies here for the 'warmer' winter from Greenland and Svalbard. This epic journey was once a mystery to people, who thought it hatched from the goose…
Common dolphin
These energetic dolphins are often spotted in large groups which will approach boats, bowriding and leaping alongside. At sea, they can form superpods - huge groups made up of thousands of…
Common scoter
The common scoter has suffered large declines in the UK, threatening its survival here. Look out for this duck feeding at sea in winter when its numbers are bolstered by migrating birds.
Kelp forests
Forests of kelp sway in shallow sunlit waters, offering shelter to a host of sea life from tiny worms to juvenile fish.
Grey seal
Have you ever seen the curious face of a grey seal bobbing in the waves when visiting the beach? Grey seals can be seen lying on beaches waiting for their food to go down. Sometimes they are…
Mountain hare
The mountain hare lives in the Scottish Highlands and the north of England. They are renowned for turning white in winter to match their upland surroundings.