A fierce pirate of the sea, the great skua is renowned for stealing fish from other seabirds and dive-bombing anyone that comes near its nests. It breeds on the Scottish Isles.

With a silvery body, and purple, pink and bluish streaks down its flanks, the rainbow trout lives up to its name. Popular with anglers, it is actually an introduced species in the UK.

Herb-robert is a low-growing plant, with small, pretty, pink flowers. Look for it in shady spots in woodland, hedgerows and coastal areas.

The flowers of Opposite-leaved golden saxifrage form 'trickles of gold' along riverbanks and streamsides in shady areas like wet woodlands.

Living up to its name, the shoveler has a large and distinctive shovel-like bill which it uses to feed at the surface of the water. It breeds in small numbers in the UK, but is widespread in…

The eel is famous for both its slippery nature and its mammoth migration from its freshwater home to the Sargasso Sea where it breeds. It has suffered dramatic declines and is a protected species…

The redshank lives up to its name as it sports distinctive long, bright red legs! It feeds and breeds on marshes, mudflats, mires and saltmarshes. Look out for it posing on a fence post or rock.…

The bonnet-shaped, violet-blue flowers of Columbine can be spotted in damp areas in woodlands and in fens. It is also an attractive and much-loved garden plant.

The mistle thrush likely got its name from its love of mistletoe - it will defend a berry-laden tree with extreme ferocity! It is larger and paler than the similar song thrush, standing upright…

A fierce pirate of the sea, the Arctic skua is renowned for stealing fish from other seabirds and dive-bombing anyone that comes near its nests. It breeds in the far north of Scotland and on the…

This tiny gamebird is rarely seen, but its distinctive "wet my lips" call can be heard ringing out over areas of farmland on summer evenings.