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

A familiar black bird of our lakes, ponds and rivers, the coot is widespread; look out for its large and untidy-looking nest on the water in spring. The coot can be distinguished from the similar…

It’s easy to identify this distinctive skate from the black and yellow marbled eye spots on each wing.

The umbrella-like clusters of white, frothy flowers of cow parsley are a familiar sight along roadsides, hedgerows and woodland edges.

The distinctive sight of a spoonbill is becoming increasingly common in the east and southwest of England, with colonies of breeding birds now established.

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

This comical little duck lives up to its name – look out for the black tuft of feathers on its head!

Their long narrow shells are a common sight on our shores, especially after storms, but the animals themselves live buried in the sand.

This large shieldbug lives up to its name, bristling with long pale hairs. It's a common sight in parks, hedgerows and woodland edges in much of the UK.

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…

This black and grey solitary bee takes to the wing in spring, when it can be seen buzzing around burrows in open ground.