The cormorant is an excellent fisher. It is most easily spotted when it is perched, stretching its wings out in the sun to dry after a dive. The UK holds internationally important wintering…

With yellow-and-black bands, the giant horntail looks like a large wasp, but is harmless to us. The female uses her long, stinger-like ovipositor to lay eggs in pine trees, where the larvae then…

A well known inhabitant of UK seas, common lobsters can reach up to 60cm in length.

The variable damselfly looks a lot like the azure damselfly, but is much less common throughout most of the UK.

The large white is a common garden visitor - look out for its brilliant white wings, tipped with black.

A climbing plant of hedgerows and woodlands, Black bryony produces greenish flowers in summer and red, shiny berries in autumn. It is a poisonous plant.

This glossy wading bird is a scarce visitor to the UK, though records have become more common in recent decades.

The common mussel is a familiar sight on shores all around the UK and is a favourite food of people, seabirds and starfish alike.

The ragworm is highly common on our shores, though rarely seen except by the fishermen that dig them up for bait.

Look out for this weevil on oak trees, where females lay their eggs inside acorns.