Spot these tall, prehistoric looking birds standing like a statue on the edge of ponds and lakes, contemplating their next meal.

The giant house spider is one of our fastest invertebrates, running up to half a metre per second. This large, brown spider spins sheet-like cobwebs and pops up in the dark corners of houses,…

The St Mark's fly is small, black and shiny. It is so-called because it emerges around St Mark's Day, April 25th. Large numbers of adults can be found in woodland edges, hedgerows,…

Look out for the bright red eyes of this speedy crab in rockpools - but be careful, they're notoriously feisty and will give a painful nip!

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.

Unsurprisingly, the nocturnal long-eared owl sports large 'ear tufts' on its head, while the short-eared owl has much smaller ear tufts. A shy bird, it is best spotted around the coast…

A tall and robust species of sedge, the Great fen-sedge has long leaves with sawtooth edges. It forms dense stands in lowland fens and around lakes.

The greenshank breeds on the boggy moors and ancient peatlands of Scotland. But it can be spotted elsewhere in the UK as it passes through on migration - look around lakes, marshes and the coast…