Living up to its name, the common blue damselfly is both very common and very blue. It regularly visits gardens - try digging a wildlife-friendly pond to attract damselflies and dragonflies.

The aromatic fragrance of Large thyme can punctuate a summer walk over a chalk grassland. It is an evergreen that grows low to the ground, with erect spikes of tiny, lilac flowers appearing over…

This stunning hermit crab has only returned to our southern shores in recent years. Let us hope it stays for good this time!

This secretive bird is a member of the rail family, related to coots and moorhens. The breeding call, a rasping rattle, is given mostly at night, sometimes for hours on end.

The melodious song of the nightingale is the most likely sign of this bird being about. Shy and secretive, it sings from dense scrub and woodland, day and night.

A delicate, small plant of woodlands and hedgerows, wood-sorrel has distinctive, trefoil leaves and white flowers with purple veins; both fold up at night.

Famed for its tapping in the middle of the night, supposedly heralding tragedy, the deathwatch beetle is a serious wood-boring pest. In houses, their tunnelling can cause major damage.

At night, the pretty, white blooms of white campion produce a heady scent, attracting feeding moths. Look for this wildflower along hedgerows and roadside verges, and on waste ground.

The white-letter hairstreak gets its name from the white lines that form a 'W' shape on its underside. It is an elusive butterfly, spending much of its time in the treetops.

Who doesn’t love spotting rabbits hopping through long grass during a walk in the countryside? They are a common sight but it is always a treat to see their curious faces popping up, ears stood…