Cross-leaved heath
Cross-leaved heath is a type of heather that likes bogs, heathland and moorland. It has distinctive pink, bell-shaped flowers that attract all kinds of nectar-loving insects.
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Water vole by Terry Whittaker/2020VISION
Chwilio
European hedgehog
Considered a gardener’s best friend, hedgehogs will happily hoover up insects roaming in vegetable beds. Famously covered in spines, hedgehogs like to eat all sorts of bugs and crunchy beetles.…
My observatory
Bill has spent much of his life on Hampstead Heath. Although he feels like he's miles away from anywhere, a break in the trees offers one of the best views of London City - when it's…
Emperor moth
An unmistakeable insect of heaths, sand dunes and grasslands, the Emperor moth is fluffy, grey-brown, with big peacock-like eyespots on all four wings. Males can be seen during the day, but…
St Mark's fly
The St Mark's fly is small, black and shiny. It is so-called because it emerges around St Mark's Day, April 25th. Large numbers of adults can be found in woodland edges, hedgerows,…
Bittern
The shy and retiring bittern is a master of blending in and can be very difficult to spot in its reedbed home. It does sound like a booming foghorn, however, when it calls, so can often be heard…
Blue shark
It's easy to see where the blue shark got its name from. These sleek, elegant sharks have beautiful metallic blue backs which provide brilliant camouflage out in the open ocean.
Long-eared owl
Unsurprisingly, the nocturnal long-eared owl sports large 'ear tufts' on its head, while the short-eared owl has much smaller ear tufts. A shy bird, it is best spotted around the coast…
My gateway
John has been attending the Recovery Project at Idle Valley Nature Reserve for three years. After being diagnosed with dyslexia and getting bullied for several years at school, he was left with…
My dinner party
Niamh loves to feed the birds, so makes natural feeders out of pinecones and berries, to help them through the winter. She’ll tie this to a branch so that the birds can feast from it safely.
Wacky mammals
Mammals are a class of animal. They are warm-blooded and have fur and hair. They can also be a bit wacky! Here's our top examples of weird mammal behaviour!
Barbastelle bat
The barbastelle is a scarce bat that lives in woodland and forages over a wide area. It has a distinctive 'pug-like' appearance because of its upturned nose.