Species classes: Birds

This elegant wading bird is a rare visitor to the UK, though occasionally one or two of pairs will nest here.

Watch the deadly accurate flying of the spotted flycatcher in woodlands, gardens and parks. It sits quietly on a perch waiting for an unsuspecting insect to fly by, deftly dashing out to seize it.

These globe-spanning seabirds can often be seen offshore in autumn, shearing low over the waves.

This small summer migrant travels from Africa to breed in the reedbeds of the UK. Rarely seen but given away by its insect like trilling call; the movement of the head during calling makes it tricky to pinpoint the exact location of singing perch.

The brent goose flies to the UK for the milder winter. Two populations arrive: those with dark bellies can be found around Eastern England; while those with pale bellies can be found in the North East.

The rain-soaked lands of Britain and Northern Ireland are rich in rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, canals and ditches. Whether natural or artificial, they are the life-force behind the wildlife we love.

Healthy wetlands store carbon and slow the flow of water, cleaning it naturally and reducing flood risk downstream. They support an abundance of plant life, which in turn provide perfect shelter, nurseries and breeding grounds for wildlife.

There's another world waiting beneath the waves. Seals weave in and out of sunlit kelp forests, cuttlefish flash all the colours of the rainbow, starfish graze along the muddy seabed and sharks slip through the open water.

Farmland can conjure up rural images of brown hares zig-zagging across fields, chattering flocks of finches and yellowhammers singing from thick, bushy hedges and field margins studded with wildflowers.

Flower-rich grasslands, once a part of every farm, are part of our culture. Most have developed alongside humans because of livestock grazing and cutting for hay. Many have archaeological and historical features.