I am driving on what must be the longest, straightest road in the world, cutting through the desert dunes like a strip of liquorice far into the horizon.

The dunes are tucked in between a lake and a boreal forest, comprising a geological landscape similar to desert dunes but in a quite different location.

Not just any old beach: a pristine pink beach that gambols out for ages beneath deserted dunes, with forest and mountains zigzagging behind, maybe an osprey wheeling overhead.

However, most species are found in undisturbed habitats, from forests to scrublands and even on desert dunes.