Largely confined to the north of the UK, the rare pine marten is nocturnal and very hard to spot. Reintroductions are helping it make a comeback.

A great way to get up close and personal with the magnificent osprey is via one of the many nestcams set-up in the places that it breeds: Scotland, Cumbria, Wales and the East Midlands.

The last thing you’d expect this extraordinary creature to be is a fish!

A recent colonist to South East England, the metallic-green Willow emerald damselfly spends much of its time in the willow and alder trees that overhang ponds, lakes and canals.

A pretty and distinctive little waterbird, the mandarin duck was introduced from the Far East as its name suggests. Oddly for a duck, it nests in trees, sometimes high above the water.

The thresher shark is a migratory species and passes through UK waters in the summer months. If you’re lucky, you might see this magnificent shark jump high out of the water in to the air.

A summer visitor to the UK, the red-tailed redstart is a robin-sized bird that can be spotted in woodlands, parks and hedgerows, mainly in the north and west of the UK.