Goose barnacles often wash up on our shores attached to flotsam after big storms.

This strange furry creature often found washed ashore after storms is actually a kind of worm!

A breeding bird of fast-flowing, upland rivers, the grey wagtail can also be seen in lowland areas, farmyards and even towns in winter.

This dashing diving duck is a winter visitor to the UK's seas, coastal lakes and occasionally inland water bodies.

A plain-looking warbler, the garden warbler is a summer visitor to the UK. It is a shy bird and is most likely to be heard, rather than seen, in woodland and scrub habitats.

The common octopus is a highly intelligent, active predator. It even has a secret weapon - special glands produce a venom that it uses to incapacitate its prey!

These colourful little fish are a delight for snorkellers or shallow water divers to photograph, rarely being scared off by their presence!

Selfheal is a low-growing, creeping plant that likes the short turf of grasslands, roadside verges or even lawns. Its clusters of violet flowers appear in summer.

The bearded tit is an unmistakable cinnamon-coloured bird of reedbeds in the south, east and north-west of England. Males actually sport a black 'moustache', rather than a beard!