The black poplar is a large tree of floodplains, flooded gravel pits and ditches, particularly in England. Despite being an important part of our culture for centuries, it has declined massively…

The courtship of the marsh harrier is certainly a sight to behold - wheeling and tumbling through the sky, male and female partners lock talons in mid-air. Look out for this rare bird over…

A giant of the sea turtle world, leatherback turtles are ocean wanderers searching the seas for jellyfish. Unlike other sea turtles, leatherback turtles don’t mind the cold! This means they can…

It's easy to see where this small starfish got its name, it really does look like a little star-shaped cushion. Keep an eye out under rocks next time you're rockpooling for this little…

A much-loved garden bird, the blackbird is famous for its harmonious song. In winter, our resident birds are joined by migrants from Scandinavia and the Baltics.

The kestrel is a familiar sight hovering over the side of the road, looking out for its favourite food: small mammals like field voles. It prefers open habitats like grassland, farmland and…

A stocky, little sandpiper, the knot can be spotted in estuaries from August onwards, migrating here from the Arctic where it breeds. Look out for it probing the muddy sand with its specialised…

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.

The common polypody is a hardy fern of damp, shady places in woodlands. It also makes a good garden fern. It has ladder-like, leathery foliage with pimply undersides - these spots are the spores…