Common backswimmer
The fearsome common backswimmer hunts insects, tadpoles and fish. It uses its oar-like legs to swim upside-down under the water's surface where unsuspecting prey can be found.
Water vole by Terry Whittaker/2020VISION
The fearsome common backswimmer hunts insects, tadpoles and fish. It uses its oar-like legs to swim upside-down under the water's surface where unsuspecting prey can be found.
Similar to the common backswimmer, the lesser water boatman has oar-like legs to help it swim, but it does not swim upside-down. It is herbivorous and can be found at the surface of ponds, lakes…
Sugar kelp is the crinkly belt like kelp that can often be found in deep rockpools on the lower shore or washed up on the beach after rough seas.
For Lucy, the wind and salty spray of the Atlantic Ocean is more relaxing than any spa treatment and being surrounded by amazing wildlife, like Common Dolphins, Minke Whales and Harbour Porpoise…
This beautiful butterfly is one of our rarest, now mostly restricted to the western parts of the UK.
This is a predominantly subtidal species but can be found on the lowest parts of a sheltered rocky shore in summer.
Beautiful demoiselles are, well, beautiful! Often confused for a dragonfly, these giants of the damselfly world are hard to miss with their metallic blue and green colours.
The razorbill has a characteristically thick, black bill, with a white stripe across it. It nests with other seabirds, such as guillemots, but prefers the lower ledges and rocky bottoms of cliffs…
I’m Libby, and I’m currently completing a research development internship in sustainable aquaculture (basically farming in water) at the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) in Oban. In…
This pretty, speckled moth is now a rare sight, found only in a few parts of southern England.
This dazzling dragonfly can be seen darting above tree-lined ponds in certain parts of Britain.
In early spring, listen out for the 'chiff chaff chiff chaff' song of the appropriately named chiffchaff. It can be heard in woodland, scrub, parks and gardens across the UK.