A recent colonist to south east England, the metallic-green willow emerald damselfly spends much of its time in the willow and alder trees that overhang ponds, lakes and canals.

A pretty and distinctive little waterbird, the mandarin duck was introduced from the Far East as its name suggests. Oddly for a duck, it nests in trees, sometimes high above the water.

The last thing you’d expect this extraordinary creature to be is a fish!

The sweet chestnut is famous for its shiny brown fruits, or 'chestnuts', that are wrapped in a spiky, green casing and make a tasty winter treat. Look for this tree in woodlands in south…

Their long narrow shells are a common sight on our shores, especially after storms, but the animals themselves live buried in the sand.

The thresher shark is a migratory species and passes through UK waters in the summer months. If you’re lucky, you might see this magnificent shark jump high out of the water in to the air.

The small, brown Dartford warbler is most easily spotted when warbling its scratchy song from the top of a gorse stem. It lives on lowland heathland in the south of England, where it nests on the…