Spotting sheets

Download our spotting sheets and take them with you when you go wildlife spotting.

Seabird spotter - see how many different kinds of seabirds you can spot on your next trip to the coast. You might not see them all at once depending on where you visit, but there are lots of gulls, terns and other diving birds to look out for.  

Ladybird detective - have you noticed that not all ladybirds have the same number of spots and that they come in many different colours? This is because there are 26 types of true ladybird found in the UK, and they come in many different sizes and patterns. Here are just a few you might spot.

Cold blood detective - from late February onwards some much missed friends return to our gardens and wild places. Look out for sleepy reptiles and amphibians as they emerge from hibernation. 

Festive wildlife detective - count down ten of the Twelve Days of Christmas with this festive-themed spotting sheet. But don't worry, your partridge doesn't have to be in a pear tree to count!  

Snail detective - did you know there are around 90 different species of land snail in the UK? There are hairy ones, flat ones, stripey ones and tiny ones, but can you tick off any of these? 

Finch detective - finches are seed specialists, and each species has a beak that is perfectly adapted for its favourite foods. Compare a goldfinch with a bullfinch and you'll see the difference!    

Goose and swan detective - autumn and winter is a great to time to look out for flocks of swans and geese. You might think the UK is a bit of chilly place to spend the winter, but for many of these birds, it's like a summer holiday!

Urban bird detective - you might not think it at first, but our towns and cities are home many kinds of plants and animals. How many of these street-wise birds do you share your local town with? 

Nibbler spotter - keep your eyes on the trees, the hedgerows and the waterways, and you might just glimpse a secretive mammal darting in and out of the leaves. They're small, quick and difficult to get close to, so you'll need all your detective skills to spot these critters!  

Dragons and damsels - high summer is the time to look out for dragonflies and damselflies. These colourful predators look like flying jewels whizzing around our wetlands.

Summer wader spotter - we get a few new visitors to our wetlands in the summer, as well as old friends with new looks. See if you can tick a few of these off.

Warbler detective - these secretive little birds can be hard to tell apart by looks alone. It's when they sing that they reveal their identity! There are some differences to look out for though... 

Summer flowers - a selection of some of the UK's most widespread countryside flowers. Many like to grow along footpaths and roadsides, so see how many you can tick off this summer.  

Garden bird detective - tick off the visitors to your bird table with this spotting sheet of familiar friends. Perhaps you've seen every single one in your garden!  

Bird of prey detective 2 - a few more birds of prey for you to spot, this time including owls and scarcer species. Many are hard to find, especially during the day! 

Bird of prey detective - scan the skies for soaring buzzards, watch the roadside for hovering kestrels and keep an eye out for the classic forked tail of the red kite. 

Grazing mammal spotter - watch out for deer, rabbits and other large plant eaters. These shy vegetarians are easily spooked and hard to get close to, so you might only glimpse bottoms as they bound away from you! 

Winter wader detective - the UK's wetlands, coastlines and estuaries can be full of wading birds during the winter. With their long legs and beaks they can be tricky to tell apart! 

Shoreline detective - a wealth of interesting marine treasures can turn up along beaches and coastlines throughout the year. Take a closer look at some of the things washed up and see if you can spot any of these. 

Winter nuts and berries - once winter starts to bite, a few of the hardier berries and nuts are left to see birds and mammals through the cold weather. They're easier to see once the leaves start to fall.

Wild fruit detective - with lots of hungry mouths to feed as animals stock up in autumn, wild fruits often don't last long. See how many you can spot in the hedgerows before they're all gobbled up! 

 Fungi detective - mushrooms are the usually the only part of a fungus we usually get to see. They grow quickly from the ground, often in the autumn, to release spores for reproduction. Look for them in damp areas around trees where the rest of the fungus is feeding on underground roots or rotting wood. 

 Gall spotter - these funny little growths are found on many parts of plants and trees. They are caused by tiny wasp grubs growing inside the plants, but how many can you find?

 Moth spotter - many moths are on the wing during the day and can be as colourful as butterflies. Many more can be disturbed from their resting places when you brush past. Look out for the letter shaped marking of the Silver Y moth or the hovering flight of hummingbird and burnet moths.

Caterpillar spotting sheet - here is a selection of just a few of the caterpillars you might come across over the summer. Many look similar and can be hard to find, so look carefully for small clues to tell them apart. 

Country butterflies spotting sheet - the butterflies of country lanes, open fields and farmland can be different to the ones you encounter in your garden. Be prepared to identify them!   

Woodland butterflies spotting sheet - when you go down to the woods today, make sure you have this guide to woodland butterflies with you! The browns and buffs of the woodland butterfly can make them hard to spot in the shade.

Butterfly detective spotting sheet - identify the fluttering visitors to your garden with this handy butterfly guide. Some of them can look very similar, so pay close attention to the wing patterns to tell them apart.

Spring tree ID - tell those tricky trees apart by learning the signs to look out for. Even without their leaves, trees begin to give us clues to their identity with buds, flowers and left-over seeds.

Spring flowers spotting sheet - count down the days to warmer weather by ticking off these spring flowers. Some are early, some are late, and some are only found in woodland.

Winter bird spotter - see if you can spot these ten winter birds. Some are hard to find, but others like the robin should be quite easy to spot if you look around gardens and parks. Good luck!

Nut detective spotting sheet - learn how to identify common nuts and the signs left behind by the wildlife that eats them.

Duck detective spotting sheet - learn how to tell your pintail from your pochard with our easy-to-use guide to 10 UK ducks. Take with you on any duck-watching trip!

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