Bewick's swan
A winter visitor, the well-travelled Bewick's swan is the smallest of our swans. It has more black on its yellow-and-black bill than the whooper swan. Look out for it around Eastern England…
A winter visitor, the well-travelled Bewick's swan is the smallest of our swans. It has more black on its yellow-and-black bill than the whooper swan. Look out for it around Eastern England…
When spotting the pintail in winter, look out for the fabulous, long tail feathers that characterise it. This dabbling duck feeds at the water's surface, rather than diving for food.
You are likely to spot the smooth newt in your garden or local pond. It breeds in water in summer and spends the rest of the year in grassland and woodland, hibernating over winter.
Broad-leaved dock is well-known to most of us as the remedy for Stinging nettle irritations. Often considered a 'weed', it can be found next to water or on disturbed ground almost…
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…
A pretty and distinctive little waterbird, the mandarin duck was introduced from the Far East as its name suggests. Oddly for a duck, it nests in trees, sometimes high above the water.
Lend a helping hand to wildlife in hot weather. Keep your watering stations topped up with water, and let some of your garden grow wild to provide shade for animals.
As a child growing up in Ghana, Patience never took an interest in what was going on in the garden. Now, she’s growing her own flowers and vegetables every week, both at the Centre for Wildlife…
The huge white-tailed eagle is our largest bird of prey. After being persecuted to extinction in the UK, it has been successfully reintroduced in Scotland and, more recently, to the Isle of Wight…
A common dragonfly of canals, marshes, reedbeds and lakes, the brown hawker can be seen patrolling the water or 'hawking' through woodland rides. It is easily distinguished by its…
The common pond skater can be seen 'skating' over the surface of ponds, lakes, ditches and slow-moving rivers. It is predatory, feeding on small insects by detecting vibrations in the…