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…

This slender and elegant shark species is often found close to shore all around our coasts and can grow up to 6 feet long.

Wild carrot does, indeed, smell of carrots, but the roots are not like our cultivated, dinnertime favourite. Look for this umbellifer on chalk grasslands and coasts.

The brent goose flies to the UK for the milder winter. Two populations arrive: those with dark bellies can be found around Eastern England; while those with pale bellies can be found in the North…

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…

A common and stocky bird of our rocky coasts, the rock pipit can nearly always be seen close to the sea. It is a bit smaller than a starling.

Rare summer visitors, honey buzzards breed in open woodland where they feed on the nests and larvae of bees and wasps.

This small finch nests on moorlands and coastal crofts, spending the winter on the coast. The UK population has declined dramatically.