Water figwort
Water figwort is a tall plant of riverbanks, pond margins, damp meadows and wet woodlands. Its maroon flowers are pollinated by the Common wasp.
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Water vole by Terry Whittaker/2020VISION
Chwilio
My neighbourhood
Sir David Attenborough has travelled the world in search of wildlife and wild spaces. But much closer to home, he can explore the hidden woodland at Crane Park Island, discover flying stag beetles…
Freshwater and wet places
Our wetlands range from small ponds and tiny streams to lengthy rivers like the Severn and huge wetlands like the Somerset Levels, East Anglian Fens and the Norfolk Broads.
Azure damselfly
The azure damselfly is a pale blue, small damselfly that is commonly found around most waterbodies from May to September. Try digging a wildlife pond in your garden to attract damselflies and…
Spear thistle
A common plant of disturbed ground like roadside verges and field edges, the spear thistle has purple, fluffy flower heads that appear in summer. Its flowers attract insects and its seeds feed…
Greater celandine
Greater celandine is a very common plant that spreads easily in the garden, on waste ground and in hedgerows. It is considered a weed, but the small, yellow flowers provide nectar for insects.
Dryad's saddle
This big, beautiful fungus is a common one that can often be spotted popping out of trees.
Cotton spinner
Although they might not look it, sea cucumbers like this one belong to the Echinoderm group and are therefore closely related to starfish and sea urchins
Wigeon
The wigeon is a colourful duck that can often be spotted wheeling round our winter skies in large flocks. A dabbling duck, it surface-feeds on plants and seeds in shallow waters.
Get started with your spotter sheets
You can use this tool to create simple nature spotting sheets to print off and use outside.
Rose chafer
The rose chafer can be spotted on garden flowers, as well as in grassland, woodland edges and scrub.
My studio
With her sketchbook, Carol loves to get lost in the detail of the shore’s wildlife, plants, textures and fossils. And she always comes away feeling enriched.