Little tern
Found around our coasts during the breeding season, the little tern is a diminutive seabird. Despite its size, it performs remarkable aerial courtship displays.
Found around our coasts during the breeding season, the little tern is a diminutive seabird. Despite its size, it performs remarkable aerial courtship displays.
The hawfinch is the UK's largest finch, with an enormous bill powerful enough to crush a cherry stone. Despite their size, they are typically elusive, especially during the summer nesting…
The streamlined black-throated diver is a superb swimmer and diver, but not so graceful on land! During the summer, the distinctive black patch on its throat appears, heralding the breeding season…
Sand dunes are places of constant change and movement. Wander through them on warm summer days for orchids, bees and other wildlife, or experience the forces of nature behind their creation - the…
Found around our coasts during the breeding season, the large Sandwich tern can be spotted diving into the sea for fish such as sandeels. It nests in colonies on sand and shingle beaches, and…
Chamomile releases a beautiful, apple-like scent when crushed. For this reason, it was used in Elizabethan times as a plant for lawns and seats! Today, it is scarce in the wild, its grassland…
The male whitethroat does, indeed, have a white throat! Arriving from Sub-Saharan Africa in April, it can be spotted on grassland and scrub, and along hedgerows. It is bigger than the lesser…
One of the joys of a spring day is watching a fluttering, lemon-yellow brimstone alight on a flower - an early sign that the seasons are changing. It is commonly spotted in gardens, woodland and…
MRes completed by Kornelia Twardowska, September 2024, at Nottingham Trent University.
The palmate newt looks similar to the smooth newt, but favours shallow pools on acidic soils like heathlands. During the breeding season, males grow distinctive black webbing on their hind feet.…
This funny-looking fish certainly won't be winning any beauty pageants, but it's a real contender for Father of the Year!
During the breeding season, the common tern can be seen around our coasts and also inland at gravel pits, reservoirs and lakes. It nests in noisy colonies and can be spotted plunge-diving for fish…