Bewick's swan
A winter visitor, the well-travelled Bewick's swan is the smallest of our swans. It has more black on its yellow-and-black bill than the whooper swan. Look out for it around Eastern England…
A winter visitor, the well-travelled Bewick's swan is the smallest of our swans. It has more black on its yellow-and-black bill than the whooper swan. Look out for it around Eastern England…
The white-fronted goose lives up to its name - look out for the white patch on its forehead and around its bill. It does not breed in the UK, but flies here from Greenland and Siberia for the…
This smelly, strange looking fungus is also referred to as octopus stinkhorn or octopus fungus. Its eye-catching red tentacles splay out like a starfish.
Our most diminutive falcon, the merlin is a pretty bird of prey. It chases small birds, flying low to the ground or hovering in the breeze because of its small size. Resident merlins are joined in…
The sanderling scampers about the waves looking for marine crustaceans, fish and even jellyfish to eat. It visits the UK in winter from its Arctic breeding grounds, but can also be seen as it…
You're more likely to see the attractive, brightly coloured caterpillars than the mullein moth itself.
The whooper swan is a very rare breeding bird in the UK, but has much larger populations that spend winter here after a long journey from Iceland. It has more yellow on its yellow-and-black bill…
The whinchat is a summer visitor to UK heathlands, moorlands and open meadows. It looks similar to the stonechat, but is lighter in colour and has a distinctive pale eyestripe.
The bright green ring-necked parakeet is an escapee and our only naturalised parrot; its success is likely due to warmer winters. It can be seen in the South East.
Unsurprisingly, the nocturnal long-eared owl sports large 'ear tufts' on its head, while the short-eared owl has much smaller ear tufts. A shy bird, it is best spotted around the coast…
A delicate wader, Red-necked phalaropes are as comfortable swimming as they are on land. Unusually for birds, the females are more brightly coloured than the males.
This brightly coloured and easily recognizable fish is one of three gurnard species found in UK seas. Collectively, gurnards are known as sea robins.