coastal wildlife
UK sand dune guide: best dunes to visit and wildlife to identify
Britain's sand dunes are teeming with wildlife, including hardy wildflowers butterflies and coastal birds. Learn more with our expert sand dunes guide, including wildlife identification and dunes to visit.
Seaweed guide: common UK species and how to identify them
There are over 600 types of seaweed in the UK – here we look at 10 of the most common, including some of the best types of edible seaweed to look for on UK shores.
New Nature Writer of the Year 2022 – Runner up 2: Journey to Dunwich Beach
A cycle ride through heathland to the North Sea coast inspired Katherine Ilett's luminous entry to the 2022 New Nature Writer of the Year competition, the second of three runners-up
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Big Seaweed Search Week: how to take part and what to look for
Visiting the coast this July? Join in the Big Seaweed Search to help assess the state of the UK’s seaweed — a vital carbon store that can help mitigate the impact of climate change.
Starfish guide: UK species, how to identify and where to see
Learn how to identify some of Britain's most common starfish with our spotter's guide.
Day out: Tollesbury Wick, Essex
Essex has one of the longest county coastlines in England, home to haunting marsh
harriers, majestic winter wildfowl and Britain’s smallest mammal
Guide to Britain's auk species
There are five species of auk in the UK, including puffins, razorbills, black guillemots, guillemots and little auks. Learn how to identify these distinctive seabirds as they return to land in March and April to breed.
Day out: Trevellas Porth, Cornwall
Discover a quiet Cornish cove where opportunities for snorkelling, rock-pooling, paddles and swims abound
Podcast: Find peace and poetry on a Scottish island
Head to a poet's peaceful island retreat on the Hebridean island of Seil in episode 2, season 6 of the BBC Countryfile Magazine podcast
Day out: Tennyson Down, Isle of Wight
Explore the wildlife-rich downland of this thriving Isle of Wight nature reserve through which Alfred, Lord Tennyson strolled daily
Day out: Braunton Burrows, Devon
Find a lost chapel and exuberant rabbits among sand dunes that teem with wildlife in spring