Inspiring images

Redstarts are immediately identifiable by their bright orange-red tails, which they often quiver. Redstarts ‘bob’ in a very robin-like manner, but spend little time at ground level.

Puffins’ short wings are adapted for swimming with a flying technique under water. In the air, they beat their wings rapidly (up to 400 times per minute) in swift flight, often flying low over the ocean’s surface.

Swallows are extremely agile in flight and spend most of their time on the wing. They use their aerial skills to feed and attract a mate. They are found in areas where there is a ready supply of small insects such as pasture near water and reedbeds.

Reaching lengths of up to 11 metres, Basking Sharks are the largest fish in British waters.  One of only three plankton-feeding shark species, these harmless giants reappear in our coastal waters each summer.

Gannet pairs may remain together over several seasons. They perform elaborate greeting rituals at the nest, stretching their bills and necks skywards and gently tapping bills together.

Dolphins are extraordinarily intelligent animals who also display culture, something which was long-believed to be unique to humans, although now recognised in various species.

These delightful silvery-grey and white birds have long tails which have earned them the nickname ‘sea-swallow’. They have a buoyant, graceful flight and frequently hover over water before plunging down for a fish. They often breed in noisy colonies.

Godwits are shore birds, large sandpipers with long legs and bills. Their long, subtly upcurved bills allow them to probe deeply in the sand for aquatic worms and molluscs. They form large flocks on coasts and estuaries in winter.

These rather large damselflies have wingspans of 5–8 cm and they’re often metallic-coloured. The family contains some 150 species.

Arctic terns are strongly migratory, enjoying two summers each year as they migrate from their northern breeding grounds along a winding route to the oceans around Antarctica and back, a round trip of about 70,900 km each year.

Grey seals are the largest breeding seals found in the UK. Half of the world’s population of grey seals are found around British coasts, mostly in Scotland. When feeding, these seals can dive to a depth of 70 metres.

Kingfishers have a varied diet but are most famous for hunting fish. They also eat crustaceans, frogs and other amphibians, worms, molluscs, insects, spiders,  centipedes, reptiles (including snakes) and even birds and mammals.

When alarmed, a roe deer barks a sound much like a dog and flashes his or her white rump patch. Males may also bark, make a low grunting noise or a high-pitched wolf-like whine when attracting mates during the breeding season.

Northern gannets are spectacular divers, plunging into the ocean at high speed. They mainly eat small fish (2–30 cm in length) which gather in groups near the surface. Various cod, smelt, and herring species are most frequently taken.

Introduced to the UK in the 19th century, little owls are now widespread across southern and central Britain feeding on a diet of beetles, earthworms and small rodents. They hunt at night and dawn.

Blue-tailed damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum) is a widespread species across many wetland areas of the UK. During mating, the male clasps the female by her neck while she bends her body around to his reproductive organs – this is called a mating wheel.

Red-throated diver calling in the mist on its breeding loch in northern Scotland. These are monogamous birds who form long-term pair bonds. Males and females build a nest together and both feed their young.

Male goldeneye engage in an elaborate display throwing their heads back and splashing the water with their feet. Naturally, they nest in cavities in large trees though nestboxes have enabled a healthy breeding population to become established in Scotland.

This sequence of photographs shows a Large red damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula) emerging from a nymphal case to an adult damselfly. It is one of the first damselflies to emerge in the year and iinhabits ponds and dykes, and occasionally slow-moving rivers.

The diminutive male wren builds several ‘cock nests’ for his mate to choose. Once she chooses one it is lined with grass, moss and lichen and she lays her eggs. Favourite nesting spots are holes in walls or tree trunks or cracks in corners of buildings.