Flowering rush
Flowering rush is a pretty rush-like plant of shallow wetland habitats, such as ponds, canals and ditches. Its cup-shaped, pink flowers appear in summer, brightening up the water's edge.
Flowering rush is a pretty rush-like plant of shallow wetland habitats, such as ponds, canals and ditches. Its cup-shaped, pink flowers appear in summer, brightening up the water's edge.
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.
A diminutive but aggressive predator, the three-spined stickleback hunts tadpoles and small fish. It is also known for fiercely protecting its nest of eggs until they hatch. Look for it in ponds,…
Escaped or intentionally freed from fur farms in the 1960s, the American mink is now well established in the UK. Its carnivorous nature is a threat to our native water vole and seabird populations…
Forming mats of straight, bright green stems, Common spike-rush does, indeed, look like lots of tightly clustered 'spikes' near the water's edge of our wetland habitats.
Despite being considered a 'weed' of cultivated ground, the seeds of the Creeping thistle provide an important food source for farmland birds, many of which are declining rapidly.
The hustle and bustle of city life melts away when Kathryn visits Camley Street Natural Park. Without leaving central London, she can go from man-made soaring skyscrapers to an oasis-like…
Great reedmace is familiar to many of us as the archetypal 'bulrush'. Look for its tall stems, sausage-like, brown flower heads and green, flat leaves at the water's edge in our…
Not to be confused with the ‘jewel anemone’ which resides in deeper waters, the gem anemone is just as wonderful a find on the rocky shore!
The graceful great crested grebe is a familiar sight on our lakes and reservoirs, and is well-known for its elaborate courtship dance, during which it rises vertically out of the water and shakes…
The UK's smallest whale, the minke whale, is notoriously inquisitive around boats and is even known to breach clear of the water. Beware though - their fragrant breath has given them the…
The eel is famous for both its slippery nature and its mammoth migration from its freshwater home to the Sargasso Sea where it breeds. It has suffered dramatic declines and is a protected species…