Mackerel are a sign of summer's arrival, when they appear inshore in huge numbers all around the UK. As well as being a sustainable seafood choice, they are an important food source for many…

The much-loved robin is a garden favourite and one of our most familiar birds, adorning Christmas cards every year. It is very territorial, however, and will defend its post with surprising…

The Carline thistle produces distinctive brown-and-golden flower heads that look like a seeded thistle. These flowers are attractive to a wide range of butterflies, including the very rare Large…

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…

A pretty, little gull, the kittiwake can be spotted nesting in colonies on clifftops and rock ledges around the UK's coast. It spends the winter out at sea.

The large eyed ladybird is unmistakeable: it is our only ladybird with yellow rings around its black spots. Ladybirds are beneficial insects, managing garden pests - encourage them by putting up a…

Ivy is one of our most familiar plants, seen climbing up trees, walls, and along the ground, almost anywhere. It is a great provider of food and shelter for all kinds of animals, from butterflies…

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.

This striking black-and-white moth flies during the day in open woodlands, moorlands, and bogs. It's most common on Scottish moors.

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 English oak is, perhaps, our most iconic tree: the one that almost every child and adult alike could draw the lobed leaf of, or describe the acorn fruits of. A widespread tree, it is prized…