The spiky, silvery leaves of Sea-holly give this plants its common name. Look for its beautiful, thistle-like, blue blooms on coastlines and sand dunes in summer.

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…

A common spider of heathland and grassland, the Nursery web spider has brown and black stripes running the length of its body. It is an active hunter, only using its silk to create a protective…

The tightly packed, thistle-like purple flower heads of common knapweed bloom on all kinds of grasslands. Also regularly called black knapweed, this plant attracts clouds of butterflies.

A funny little fellow in his glossy black dinner jacket and crisp white bib, the puffin is instantly recognisable from its brightly coloured parrot-like bill. Puffins use their colourful bill to…

Have you ever seen the curious face of a grey seal bobbing in the waves when visiting the beach? Grey seals can be seen lying on beaches waiting for their food to go down. Sometimes they are…

Saw-wort gets its common name from the serrated, saw-like edges to its leaves. It is a plant of unimproved hay meadows and woodland edges, its purple, thistle-like flowers appearing over summer.…