A tall orchid of woodland and scrub, the broad-leaved helleborine has greenish, purple-tinged flowers that look a little 'drooping'. Strongly veined, oval leaves spiral around its stem…

The bulbous buttercup has the familiar butter-yellow flowers of its namesake, but grows from a bulb-like 'corm' (a swollen underground stem). Look for it on chalk and limestone…

Ivy-leaved toadflax is an introduced species in the UK that has become widely naturalised. Look for creeping along old walls and pavements, and shingle beaches. Its flowers resemble those of…

Tall melilot was introduced into the UK as a fodder crop, but has now become naturalised. It displays golden, pea-like flowers on tall spikes, which are followed by black, hairy seed pods.

A plant of chalk and limestone grasslands and sand dunes, Yellow-wort has butter-yellow flowers. Its distinctive leaves sit opposite each other, but are fused together around the stem.

Despite its name, the common gull is not as common as some of our other gulls. It can be spotted breeding at the coast, but is also partial to sports fields, landfill sites and housing estates in…

The whimbrel is very similar to the curlew, but a little smaller and with a striking face pattern. Its eerie call is a series of seven whistles; listen out for it around the coast as its passes…

Unsurprisingly, the garden bumblebee can be found in the garden, buzzing around flowers like foxgloves, cowslips and red clover. It is quite a large, scruffy-looking bee, with a white tail. It…

The guelder-rose is a small tree of hedgerows, woods, scrub and wetlands. It displays large, white flowers in summer and red berries in autumn, which feed all kinds of birds, including Bullfinches…

The ivy bee is a new arrival to the UK. First recorded here in 2001, it is slowly spreading north. It feeds mainly on the nectar of ivy flowers and can be seen in autumn when this plant is in…

The markings of the peacock are unmistakeable - big, blue 'eyes' just like a peacock's tail feathers. It can be seen feeding on flowers all year-round during warm spells, and…

So-named for its spear-like leaves, Lesser spearwort can be found along the edges of ponds, lakes and streams, and in marshes and wet meadows. As a buttercup, it displays familiar, butter-yellow…