These winter visitors are close relatives of the chaffinch and can often be found in the same flocks, where their white rump and nasal calls give them away.

The tiny, brown-and-white sand martin is a common summer visitor to the UK, nesting in colonies on rivers, lakes and flooded gravel pits. It returns to Africa in winter.

Found in ponds and marshes, the fragile look of the Common water-measurer belies its fierce nature. A predator of small insects, it uses the vibrations of the water's surface to locate its…

The eerie, 'cur-lee' call of the curlew is a recognisable sound of wet grasslands, moorlands, farmland and coasts. Its long, downcurved bill is an unmistakeable feature and perfect for…

Sometimes called 'Wild spinach', Sea beet can be cooked and eaten. It grows wild on shingle beaches, cliffs and bare ground near to the sea, as well as in saltmarshes.

Often spotted in large flocks, the fieldfare is an attractive thrush. It is a winter visitor, enjoying the feast of seasonal berries the UK's hedgerows, woodlands and parks have to offer.

Escaped or intentionally freed from fur farms in the 1960s, the American mink is now well established in the UK. Its carnivorous nature is a threat to our native water vole and seabird populations…

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…

Our largest shieldbug, the red-and-green hawthorn shieldbug can be seen in gardens, parks and woodlands, feeding on hawthorn, rowan and whitebeam. The adults hibernate over winter.

Ever wondered what that little black dot whirling in circles on the top of the water of a pond is? Those are whirligig beetles! Often seen shooting across the water surface on the hunt for its…