Spear thistle
A common plant of disturbed ground like roadside verges and field edges, the spear thistle has purple, fluffy flower heads that appear in summer. Its flowers attract insects and its seeds feed…
A common plant of disturbed ground like roadside verges and field edges, the spear thistle has purple, fluffy flower heads that appear in summer. Its flowers attract insects and its seeds feed…
Famous for its fearsome jaws, the stag beetle does not have the bite to match. Look for it in woods, parks and gardens in South East England in summer. Males display their massive jaws to attract…
These globe-spanning seabirds can often be seen offshore in autumn, shearing low over the waves.
The hairy-footed flower bee can be seen in gardens and parks in spring and summer, visiting tubular flowers like red dead-nettle and comfrey. As its name suggests, it has long, orange hairs on its…
A key species in the story of conservation, the avocet represents an amazing recovery of a bird once extinct in the UK. This pied bird, with its distinctive upturned bill, can now be seen on…
Found along the coast all year-round, the dunlin is a small sandpiper that breeds and winters in the UK. It can be seen in its upland breeding grounds in summer, when it turns brick-red above and…
This small summer migrant travels from Africa to breed in the reedbeds of the UK. Rarely seen but given away by its insect like trilling call; the movement of the head during calling makes it…
One of our most extensive habitats, moorlands cover huge areas in the uplands. Great expanses of unenclosed, wild-seeming land impart a sense of freedom and adventure, although the wide, open…
The skeletons of deep-water corals form mounds that can support over 1,000 species of invertebrates and fish.
Blink and you may miss the fantastic kingfisher! It's often seen as a flash of blue flying low over a river.
Enormous flocks of geese, ducks and swans swirl down from wide skies to drop onto the flat, open expanses of flooded grazing marshes in winter. In spring, lapwing tumble overhead and the soft,…