Common sunstar
This large starfish looks just like the sun, with 10-12 arms spreading outwards like rays.
This large starfish looks just like the sun, with 10-12 arms spreading outwards like rays.
The variable damselfly looks a lot like the azure damselfly, but is much less common throughout most of the UK.
A spindly tree of heathland and moorlands, and damp soils, the Downy birch is well known for its paper-thin, white bark. It is so-called for the hairy stalks from which its leaves grow; the Silver…
With brown-and-orange markings, the Drone-fly looks like a male Honeybee, but is harmless to us. This mimicry helps to protect it from predators while it searches for nectar in gardens and urban…
Graham has been mad about butterflies all his life. He volunteers for Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust and records them on a local nature reserve as well as nationally.
Whether they are tumbles of soft rock home to a variety of invertebrates, or hard, soaring rock faces bustling with huge seabird colonies, maritime cliffs may be challenging to explore but are…
Juliet Sargeant was first inspired by nature as a child: when she’s working, her mind often wanders back to playing in the woods with her friends.
She left a career in medicine to train as…
The stock dove looks very much like the woodpigeon, but without the white neck and wing patches. It can be spotted in woodlands and parks, and on farmland in winter, but rarely visits our gardens…
'The Children's Book of Birdwatching' by Dan Rouse is a great resource for young birders. This beautifully illustrated book provides a comprehensive guide to birdwatching, and…
With ginger hairs, dark banding and a cream tail, the Narcissus bulb fly looks like a bumble bee, but is harmless to us. This mimicry helps to protect it from predators while it searches for…
This sponge is found on rocky shores around the UK and looks like a thick bready crust (if you use your imagination a bit!).