Essex skipper
This small orange-brown butterfly can be tricky to tell apart from the similar small skipper.
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Chwilio
Sooty shearwater
These globe-spanning seabirds can often be seen offshore in autumn, shearing low over the waves.
Red-breasted merganser
The streamlined red-breasted merganser is a handsome bird and a great fisher - its long, serrated bill helps it to catch and hold its slippery fish prey. It is most commonly spotted around the…
Brown-tail
The caterpillars of this fluffy white moth are best admired from a distance, as their hairs can irritate the skin.
Ring ouzel
The blackbird of the mountains, ring ouzels can be found breeding on upland moors and rocky crags in summer.
My secret garden
Rowan loves the fresh smell and sight of the buttercups in the wildflower meadows at Besthorpe. It's a special place because there are precious few spots like this where she can spend time…
Oyster mushroom
Oyster mushrooms are shell shaped fungi that grow in tiers or fabulous clusters on dead trees or stumps. Unlike many fungi, these mushrooms are not seasonal and can be found all year round,…
Lobster
A well known inhabitant of UK seas, common lobsters can reach up to 60cm in length.
Atlantic oak wood
These are the atmospheric oak woods of the Celtic upland fringes, where the mild, moist oceanic climate allows luxurious mats of mosses to carpet the rocky ground and creep up gnarled trunks,…
My motivation
I’m Libby, and I’m currently completing a research development internship in sustainable aquaculture (basically farming in water) at the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) in Oban. In…
Green sea urchin
This small, round sea urchin is (unsurprisingly!) green in colour and can be found on rocky shores around the UK.
Grey seal
These large seals can often be seen bobbing in the sea or lying on beaches waiting for their food to go down.