The river lamprey is a primitive, jawless fish, with a round, sucker-mouth which it uses to attach to other fish to feed from them. Adults live in the sea and return to freshwater to spawn.

A well-travelled migrant, the painted lady arrives here every summer from Europe and Africa. This beautiful orange-and-black butterfly regularly visits gardens.

The black poplar is a large tree of floodplains, flooded gravel pits and ditches, particularly in England. Despite being an important part of our culture for centuries, it has declined massively…

An attractive, green-and-yellow bird, the siskin regularly visits birdtables and feeders in gardens. Look for the bright yellow barring on its black wings, and the black crown of the males.

The brimstone moth is a yellow, night-flying moth with distinctive brown-and-white spots on its angular forewings. It frequently visits gardens, but also likes woods, scrub and grasslands.

Largely confined to the north of the UK, the rare pine marten is nocturnal and very hard to spot. However, it can be enticed to visit a peanut-laden birdtable.

The striking red crown, golden back, and bright yellow wings of the goldfinch make it one of our prettiest garden birds. It happily visits birdtables and feeders across the UK.

The sparrowhawk is a small bird of prey that can be found in all kinds of habitats and often visits gardens looking for its prey - small birds like finches, tits and sparrows.