Orca (Killer Whale)
Orca (Killer Whale) Orcinus orca
There is a small group of orca who live in British waters. Orca's are the largest member of the dolphin family. Their black-and-white patterning works as a camouflage, from above and below. It breaks up their appearance and makes them harder to see in the water. Image: James Maughn (iNaturalist).
Long-finned Pilot Whale
Long-finned Pilot Whale Globicephala melas
As their name suggests, they have two very long flippers; they are crescent-shaped and have pointy tips. Adult pilot whales are black or dark grey and have a lighter grey saddle patch on the back behind the dorsal fin and an anchor-shaped patch on the underside. Image: John Bray (iNaturalist).
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae
Humpback whales are massive, growing to 17 metres in length. Their huge, dark bodies are flanked by enormous pectoral flippers growing up to around a third of their body length. They use their highly-manoeuvrable flippers for hunting by slapping the water and for swimming and even possibly regulating their body temperature. Image: Natural England/Rebecca Walker (Flickr).
Hedgehog
Hedgehog Erinaceus europaeus
Unmistakable coat of several thousand spines along the back, speckled brown and cream. Brown pointed furry face, small black eyes and nose. Image: Natural England (Flickr).
Harvest Mouse
Harvest Mouse Micromys minutus
Blunt nose, small eyes, and small hairy ears in contrast to other British species of mice and also much smaller; prehensile tail the same length as the head and body; russet orange fur with a white underside. Image: Neil Rolph (Flickr).
Harbour Porpoise
Harbour Porpoise Phocoena phocoena
Harbour porpoises are relatively small compared to other dolphins. They have small, rounded heads with no beak and dark lips and chin. Equipped with robust, stocky bodies, they have predominantly dark brown backs with a pale grey or white underside, blending halfway up their sides. A small triangular fin set just past the centre of the back is one of its very distinctive features. Image: Andrew Reding (Flickr).
Hazel Dormouse
Hazel Dormouse Muscardinus avellanarius
Hazel dormice have golden-brown fur and large black eyes and, distinctively, they are the only small British mammal with a furry tail. They are nocturnal and spend almost all of their time in the branches of trees during the summer, rarely coming down to the ground. Image: Frank Vassen (Flickr).
Common Seal
Common Seal (Harbour Seal) Phoca vitulina
Fine spot-patterned grey or brown fur; rounded head with no ears visible; ‘V’ shaped nostrils and long whiskers. Common seals feed at sea but regularly haul out on to rocky shores or inter-tidal sandbanks to rest, or to give birth and to suckle their pups. Image: Nick Goodrum (Flickr).
Common Dolphin
Common Dolphin Delphinus delphis
Common dolphins have distinctive colouring with multiple colour bands along their sides. Predominantly black or dark grey in colour, forward of the dorsal fin their flanks have a flash of yellow whilst behind the dorsal fin it is white. This colouration forms a beautiful hourglass pattern on their sides. Image: Natural England/Rebecca Walker (Flickr).
Brown Hare
Brown Hare Lepus europaeus
The brown hare has very long black-tipped ears; large, long, powerful hind legs. They are much redder than the mountain hare, and with a black-topped tail. There is yellow flecking to the fur, more so than grey-brown rabbits. The brown hare is larger than rabbits. Image: Margaret Holland (Flickr).