Upland acid grassland and rush pasture
These grasslands, occupying much of the UK's heavily-grazed upland landscape, are of greater cultural than wildlife interest, but remain a habitat to some scarce and declining species.
These grasslands, occupying much of the UK's heavily-grazed upland landscape, are of greater cultural than wildlife interest, but remain a habitat to some scarce and declining species.
A key species in the story of conservation, the avocet represents an amazing recovery of a bird once extinct in the UK. This pied bird, with its distinctive upturned bill, can now be seen on…
There are several species of spider that live in our wetlands, but the water spider is the only one that spends its life under the water. In its pond habitats, it looks silvery because of the air…
The rare Norfolk hawker is a pale brown dragonfly, with a distinctive yellow triangle on its body. Until recently, it was only found in unpolluted fens, marshes and ditches of the Broads National…
The flower crab spider is one of 27 species of crab spider. The flower crab spider can alter the colour of its body to match its surroundings and to hide from prey. It is not as common as other…
A handsome gamebird, the pheasant is an introduced species that has settled here with little problem. It can be spotted in its farmland and woodland habitats, although you'll probably hear…
Palm Oil is a cheap, efficient form of vegetable oil, but a lot of species-rich tropical habitat is being destroyed to make way for it.
Badgers are the UK’s largest land predator and are one of the most well-known British species. They are famed for their black and white stripes and sturdy body, using their strong front paws to…
A familiar black bird of our lakes, ponds and rivers, the moorhen is widespread; look out for its large and untidy-looking nest on the water in spring. It can be distinguished from the similar…
The bee orchid is a sneaky mimic - the flower’s velvety lip looks like a female bee. Males fly in to try to mate with it and end up pollinating the flower. Sadly, the right bee species doesn’t…
A pale member of the violet family sometimes known as ‘milk violet’, the fen violet has a delicate and unassuming appearance. A real specialist of the wetland habitat, this species has seen a…
Horsehair worms are parasitic worms of the clade Nematoida alongside their sister taxa Nematoda, the roundworms. The most famous trait of certain species of horsehair worms is the ability to alter…