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…

This elegant wader is silvery grey in winter but turns black in summer!

With a torpedo-shaped body and long, narrow wings, the privet hawk-moth is a striking garden visitor. But the caterpillars really stand out: lime-green, with purple streaks and a black hook at the…

The aromatic fragrance of Large thyme can punctuate a summer walk over a chalk grassland. It is an evergreen that grows low to the ground, with erect spikes of tiny, lilac flowers appearing over…

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

The large, fluffy caterpillars of this moth are often seen in summer and early spring.

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.

Often a lone figure on a windswept mountainside or heath, the rowan tree can stand for up to 200 years. It is well known for its masses of red berries that attract all kinds of birds, including…