Blink and you may miss the fantastic kingfisher! This beautiful bird is easy to recognise thanks to its bright blue and metallic copper colours. It darts along the riverbank or sits patiently on a…

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…

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

The turnstone can be spotted fluttering around large stones on rocky and gravelly shores, flipping them over to look for prey. It can even lift rocks as big as its own body! Although a migrant to…

The stinkhorn has an unmistakeable and intense stench that has been likened to rotting meat. Its appearance is also very distinctive: a phallic, white, stem-like structure, with a brown, bell-…

Spot these tall, prehistoric looking birds standing like a statue on the edge of ponds and lakes, contemplating their next meal.

A medium-sized diving duck, the goldeneye can mainly be spotted in winter when birds fly in from Northern Europe. Conservation efforts have helped small numbers of these birds to nest in Scotland…

The Downlooker snipefly gets its name from its habit of sitting on posts or sunny trees with its head facing down to the ground, waiting for passing prey. It prefers grassland, scrub and woodland…

The gadwall is a dabbling duck, feeding at the surface of shallow water by 'upending' - putting its head down and its bottom up! Only a small number of gadwall nest in the UK, but large…