Search

Species

Dark green fritillary

The dark green fritillary is actually an orange butterfly with black spots. It gets its name from the dark green hue to the undersides of its hindwings. A strong flier, it can be seen on open,…

Species

Snipe

Listen out for the 'drumming' sound of a male snipe as it performs its aerial courtship display. It's not a call, but actually its tail feathers beating in the wind. Snipe live on…

Species

Shag

Shag' is a very old name that means 'tufted' and refers to the small crest that this bird sports. Look out for it in spring and summer either diving for fish from the surface of the…

Species

Common earwig

Despite popular belief, and its name (from the Old English for 'ear beetle'), the Common earwig will not crawl into your ear while you sleep - it much prefers a nice log or stone pile!…

Species

Dunlin

Found along the coast all year-round, the dunlin is a small sandpiper that breeds and winters in the UK. It can be seen in its upland breeding grounds in summer, when it turns brick-red above and…

Blog

Nature's undertakers

Discover the brilliance of burying beetles with Dr Ellie Bladon, an evolutionary ecologist based in the Department of Zoology at the University of Cambridge.

Blog

Eight legged wonders!

Ask any child – and most adults, come to that – to draw a spider in its home, and you’ll get a circular or polygonal web. Those orb-web spiders may well be the most obvious kind around our houses…