The cormorant is an excellent fisher. It is most easily spotted when it is perched, stretching its wings out in the sun to dry after a dive. The UK holds internationally important wintering…

It’s easy to see where these butterflies get their name – the males have bright orange tips on their wings! See them from early spring through to summer in meadows, woodland and hedges.

Yellow corydalis is a familiar 'weed' of gardens, walls and rocky places. It is a garden escapee in the UK, so is not a native plant. Try choosing natives for your garden to prevent…

Also known as 'Goldmoss' due to its dense, low-growing nature and yellow flowers, Biting stonecrop can be seen on well-drained ground like sand dunes, shingle, grasslands, walls and…

If you happen to be near rocky places such as sea cliffs, shingle coastlines or even gravel paths during the summer months you will most likely come across sea campion.

The alder fly is a blackish invertebrate, with delicately veined wings that it folds over its body like a tent. It can be found near ponds and slow-flowing rivers; the larvae living in the silt at…

The metallic-green emerald damselfly can be seen from June to September around ponds, lakes, ditches and canals. Unlike other damselflies, it holds its wings half-open when perched.

The large, golden flowers of marsh-marigold look like the cups of kings, hence its other name: 'kingcup'. It favours damp spots, like ponds, meadows, marshes, ditches and wet woodlands…

The common sexton beetle is one of several burying beetle species in the UK. An undertaker of the animal world, it buries dead animals like mice and birds, and feeds and breeds on the corpses.