The black poplar is a large tree of floodplains, flooded gravel pits and ditches, particularly in England. Despite being an important part of our culture for centuries, it has declined massively…

Turn over large stones or paving slabs in the garden and you are likely to find a red ant colony. This medium-sized ant can deliver a painful sting, so be careful! In summer, winged adults swarm…

Listen out for the 'drumming' sound of a male snipe as it performs its aerial courtship display. It's not a call, but actually its tail feathers beating in the wind. Snipe live on…

Many of us have felt the painful bite of the twin-lobed deer-fly (a 'horse-fly') while out walking in damp grasses or woods. But mostly, it prefers to feed on the blood of cows and…

Despite having the familiar sage-green leaves, Wood sage has very little scent, so is not a good cooking herb. It can be found on acidic soils on sand dunes, heaths and cliffs, and along woodland…

The smaller of our two UK seal species, common seals are also known as harbour seals. Despite being called "Common", they are actually less common than grey seals!

The meadow pipit favours moorland and grassland. It is an unfortunate victim of cuckolding behaviour - their own young being pushed out of the nest, so they can look after the 'parasitic…

The huge white-tailed eagle is our largest bird of prey. After being persecuted to extinction in the UK, it has been successfully reintroduced in Scotland and, more recently, to the Isle of Wight…