My discovery
Look – a boatman! Keira’s delight in learning about unusual creatures is even more special when she can find them herself.
Look – a boatman! Keira’s delight in learning about unusual creatures is even more special when she can find them herself.
The black-headed gull is actually a chocolate-brown headed gull! And for much of the year, it's head even turns white. Look out for it in large, noisy flocks on a variety of habitats.
Cock's-foot is a common, tussocky grass of grasslands, woodland rides and cultivated ground - its fluffy, pinky-beige flower heads are quite distinctive.
The ragged-edged, purple flower heads of Greater knapweed bloom on sunny chalk grasslands and clifftops, and along woodland rides. They attract clouds of butterflies.
The emperor dragonfly is an impressively large and colourful dragonfly of ponds, lakes, canals and flooded gravel pits. It flies between June and August and even eats its prey on the wing.
Despite appearances, the slow worm is actually a legless lizard, not a worm or a snake! Look out for it basking in the sun on heathlands and grasslands, or even in the garden, where it favours…
Swifts spend most of their lives flying – even sleeping, eating and drinking – only ever landing to nest. They like to nest in older buildings in small holes in roof spaces.
Our two-minute survey can score your garden and offer ideas to make it even better for wildlife, but why is this so important?
Richard could stick to the road on his commute, but taking a shortcut through the woods is far more relaxing, even if he does get muddy trousers.
Plaice is a common sight all around our coasts - if you can spot it! They are extremely well camouflaged against the seabed and can even change colour to better match their surroundings.
The green hairstreak is the UK's only green butterfly. Look out for the vibrant, metallic sheen of the undersides of its wings on grassland and moorland, and along woodland rides.