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3-spined Stickleback
A small spiny fish found in water courses with a sandy bottom and plenty of vegetation
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7-Spot Ladybird
Common garden beetle with a red body and seven black spots
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Alder
A waterside tree to 22m, often quite small and bushy, appearing dull purplish in late winter from its purplish leaf and catkin buds.
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Ash
Common broadleaved tree with large leaves made up of smaller 'leaflets'
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Badger
Britain's largest mammal
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Banded Demoiselle
Easily recognisable type of damselfy with the broad dark wing bands
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Barn Owl
Beautiful, large pale coloured owl
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Bee fly
An fly that looks remarkably like a bee
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Bee Orchid
Stunning orchid, which resembles the back of a bee
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Beech
Large deciduous tree, with smooth bark and thin brown buds.
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Black Cap
Approximately sparrow sized bird with distinctive small black cap and lighter coloured greyish body.
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Black poplar
Britain's rarest native timber tree
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Blackthorn
A stiffly thorny shrub, to 4m, suckering to form impenetrable thickets.
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Blue tit
Much loved common garden bird
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Bluebell
Beautiful woodland plant, with the native bluebell becoming rarer
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Blue-tailed damselfly
Distinct damselfly with a blue band on its tail!
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Bogbean
An attractive aquatic plant-despite its name!
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Brimstone
Large bright yellow butterfly, which is often the first and the last species to be seen in the year.
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Brown Hare
UK's fastest land mammal, which is becoming increasingly rare.
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Brown Hawker
Large brown dragonfly, with distinct brown wings
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Brown-lipped Snail
A commonly seen garden snail with brown edges to its shell
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Buff-tip
A species of moth with amazing camouflage ability. When its wings are closed it looks just like a broken birch twig
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Bullhead
Common fish found in well oxygenated water. Easily identified by its wide head and bulging eyes.
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Candle Snuff Fungus
Distinct small fungus with thin stems, which change in colour from black at the base to white at the tip.
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Chaffinch
Common, colourful finch, with a grey head and pink breast.
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Cinnabar moth
Its caterpillar is particularly distinct, with its black and yellow stripes. It is most commonly found on ragwort.
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Colt’s Foot
Low erect perennial (15cm) with white woolly, purplish stems. Leafless but with many overlapping scales.
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Comma
Butterfly with unique ragged outline coloured orange and black
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Common Buzzard
Large, graceful bird of prey, often seen soaring for long periods without flapping its wings.
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Common Frog
Common amphibian, often found in gardens especially those with ponds, or ponds nearby.
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Common orange lichen
Flat orange lichen, commonly found on walls or bark
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Common Toad
Another common garden amphibian,although there are concerns it is in decline. The toad has dry and warty skin
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Crested Cow-wheat
Nationally rare species of plant, which can be found along road verges and woodland edges.
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Cuckoo
Slender bird, generally seen around woodland and farmland. Can easily by recognised by its distinct 'cuck-oo' call
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Cuckooflower
Unbranched hairy short/medium perennial to 60cm. Flowers 11-20mm, pale to deep lilac.
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English (Pendunculate) Oak
Popular large tree, with its recognisable acrorns and wavy leaf shape
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European Eel
Long round body, with a slimy coating. Found in freshwater habitats, but need to be able to get out to sea for their migration.
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Fieldfare
Type of thrush with blue-grey head and lower back, dark tail and light speckled underbody.
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Fly agaric
The classic toadstool with its red domed cap and white spots.
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Fox
Common mammal found in both open countryside and in urban areas
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Foxglove
Tall distinct plant, with bright pink-purple flowers.
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Garden orb-web spider
Common garden spider, distinguised by the white cross on its abdomen
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Gorse
Sharp spiny shrub with distinctive yellow flowers.
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Grass snake
Non-venemous snakes, often found along river banks or in ponds. They are excellent swimmers
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Great Crested Grebe
A diving duck with a long neck, usually found on inland waters.
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Great Crested Newt
An amphibian which is declining and now a priority species. The males during the breeding season have a distinct crest.
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Great tit
Common garden bird, and is the largest of the British tits.
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Green Hairstreak
Small butterfly with green underwings, and unlike most other butterflies it rests with its wings closed.
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Green Tiger Beetle
Metallic green beetle, which is less common in Cambridgeshire. Generally found on heathland.
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Green Woodpecker
Distinct bird with its green back and red crown. Usually found in decidous woodland, and can also be recognised from its distinct call.
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Greenfinch
Stocky finch, with green and yellow plumage, and a distinctly forked tail.
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Grey Partridge
This once common farmland bird is now of conservation concern, at both a national and local level.
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Greylag goose
Its big deep-based bill, pink or orange is always diagnostic and the pink legs rules out any other species apart from the Pink-foot.
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Harlequin Ladybird
A recent foreign invasive species, which is threatening the UK native species. They can be recognised from their size, they are much larger than the native species.
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Hawthorn
A thorny shrub or small tree, with small clusters of white 5-petalled flowers.
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Hawthorn Shield Bug
One of the more easily recognisable shield bugs with the distinct red triangle on its back.
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Heather
Common plant, but only very localised in Cambridgeshire, due to its preferred habitat of heathland and sandy soils.
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Hedgehog
A distinct and well-loved mammal, which has recently been put on the UK Biodiversity Action Plan list, meaning it is now of conservation concern.
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Himalayan Balsam
A highly invasive plant commonly found along riverbanks. It is tall and has pink-purple flowers.
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Holly
A popular evergreen, which provides an important food source for birds during the winter.
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Hornet
Large wasp, which is generally a woodland species.
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House Cricket
Migrant insect, which occasionally appear in Cambridgeshire. They have black markings on their head, and unsurprisingly, given their name are found in houses.
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House Sparrow
A once very common bird, which is now in decline and of conservation concern. They are very sociabale birds and often seen in large flocks along hedgerows.
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Hummingbird Hawkmoth
A magnificent moth that closely resembles a hummingbird.
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Jointed rush
Rush with curved flat leaves and brown flowers
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Kestrel
A small bird of prey, commonly seen hovering by the sides of roads.
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King Alfred's Cakes
Hard, round, black fungus found on dead wood, most commonly Ash
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Kingfisher
Small, brilliant iridescent blue and emerald bird. Found by water
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Lapwing
Small wading bird. Metallic green upper, black cap and throat.
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Large Red Damselfly
Deep red coloured damselfly found near water
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Leopard slug
Pinkish grey with dark spots. Up to 20cm long.
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Lesser Celendine
Short hairless perennial with bright yellow flowers.
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Lesser Stag beetle
Large black beetle 18-32mm. The male has antlers
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Little Grebe or Dabchick
They are such a dumpy duck that they can look just like a ball of fluff floating on the water
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Longtailed tit
Smallest tit, but has a very long tail.
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Mink
Semi-aquatic small furry mammal 50-60cm long
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Mistletoe
White round berries with green stems and grows in clumps on trees
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Morel
The fertile head is egg shaped with obtuse irregular ridges which are grey brown becoming paler with age.
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Oedemera nobilis beetle
Metallic green beetle
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Otter
Amphibious mainly river mammal with a chocolate brown long body
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Ox-eye daisy
White petals and yellow centre. Up to 75 cms tall
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Pasqueflower
Chalk grassland flower. Up to 30cm tall with purple bell shaped flowers.
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Peacock
Large eye spot on upper part of all four wings.
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Pochard
Diving duck. Male has a chestnut head, grey body with red eyes
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Pond
To take part in our pond survey, let us know where the ponds near you are!
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Purple loosestrife
Semi-aquatic plant, which can grow up to 1.5m. It has six narrow petalled, purple flowers
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Ragged robin
Thin tall grass like leaves with five petalled pink-red flowers.
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Red Admiral
Red stripes on upper wings , black and white on fore wings.
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Red clover
Small three leafed plant with pink flowers
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Red Kite
Large soaring rapter with slightly forked tail.
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Red-tailed bumble bee
Black bee with a red tail
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Reed Bunting
Small birds, similar in size to sparrows and typically seen in wetland areas.
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Ribwort plantain
Short plant found in grassland. Flowers are in dense stubby spikes.
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Robin
Small bird with distinctive orange-red chest
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Robin’s pincushion
Spherical hard moss-like red growth on rose stems
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Roesel’s bush-cricket
Brown body with yellow stripe behind its head. 15-18mm long.
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Rosebay willowherb
Tall stems to 1.5m with pink purple flowers on spikes
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Round-leaved fluellen
Prostrate plant, many branched stems. Yellow flowers with upper violet lips
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Rowan
A deciduous tree or tall shrub to 18m, also known as the Mountain Ash
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Scarce chaser
Medium sized dragonfly with a darting flight
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Shaggy Ink Cap
Starts as a white cylinder, cap opens up and becomes shaggy and secretes a black liquid.
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Skylark
Soaring small brown bird with distinctive song
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Small Blue
Smallest British butterfly. 10mm across and dusky brown in colour
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Smooth newt
Small lizard like amphibian.
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Song Thrush
Brown blackbird sized bird with white mottled front and brown upperparts
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Stag beetle
Very large beetle and the males have huge antlers
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Starling
Birds similar to blackbirds, but with speckled plumage. Often seen in large groups.
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Sulphur clover
Creamy-yellow flowers 15-20mm with trefoil leaves.
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Swallow
Small fast flying summer visitor with a distinct long split tail.
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Swan mussel
Large mussel up to 20cm long. Found in the mud of slow moving waters
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Swift
Small bird, which is incredibly acrobatic in flight. Summer visitor only
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Turtle dove
Small dove, which is a summer visitor only
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Wall
Large orange and brown butterfly, which is of conservation concern
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Water scorpion
Invertebrate found in slow moving water. It has distinct front legs, which look like pincers
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Water vole
Rapidly declining rodent, found along river banks
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White-lipped snail
Common garden snail with a white 'lip' to its shell
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Wild Liquorice
Tall grassland plant, from which liquorice used to be made
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Willow Warbler
A small, neat and greeny-yellow bird with a fine, insect-eating bill.
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Wood anemone
Pretty, white woodland flower
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Yellow meadow ant
Easily recognisable from its yellow colour
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Yellow rattle
Tall plant with yellow flowers
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Yellowhammer
A resident bird of conservation concern. Usually seen on farmland or open country
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Yorkshire Fog
Common species of grass, often seen to have a purplish tinge.
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Zebra spider
Common house spider, which is very small and can jump.
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