Living up to its name, the shoveler has a large and distinctive shovel-like bill which it uses to feed at the surface of the water. It breeds in small numbers in the UK, but is widespread in…

The fluffy, white heads of common cotton-grass dot our brown, boggy moors and heaths as if a giant bag of cotton wool balls has been thrown across the landscape!

Look for the pretty, star-shaped, white flowers of Lesser stitchwort in woodlands and meadows, and along hedgerows and roadside verges in spring. Its flowers are smaller than those of Greater…

A spindly tree of heathland and moorlands, and dry and sandy soils, the silver birch is well known for its paper-thin, white bark. It is a great coloniser and can quickly spread in an area.

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…

Caddisflies are a large order of insects that can be found in all kinds of wetlands. The larvae are known for making cases to pupate in, gathering stones, sand and leaves, and wrapping them with…

The silvery chub can be seen gathering in large shoals in lowland rivers and streams. It is a member of the carp family and looks very similar to the dace, but is larger and has redder fins.

The bronze-coloured bream can be seen gathering in large shoals in lowland ponds, lakes and slow-flowing rivers. It is a member of the carp family and looks similar to the dace, chub and rudd.

The coppery click beetle is a large, coppery-purple beetle with straw-brown wing cases. It can be found on grassland and farmland, and its larvae are known to feed on roots and damage crops.

The bright blue, trumpet-shaped flowers of the marsh gentian contrast deeply with the pinks and purples of the wet heaths it inhabits. The New Forest holds a large population of this late-…