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.

The lesser-black backed gull can be spotted around the coast in summer, with the biggest colony on Walney Island, Cumbria. Look for it over fields, landfill sites and reservoirs during winter.

Seeing a red kite soaring high in the sky is a true delight! Once a very rare bird, thanks to successful reintroduction projects these wonderful birds can now be seen in lots of places in the UK…

An inconspicuous tree for much of the year, the wild service tree comes to life in spring, when it displays pretty, white blossom, and autumn, when its maple-like leaves turn bright crimson.

Like many of our farmland birds, the yellowhammer has declined in number in recent years. Spot this bright yellow bird singing from the top of a bush or fence, or in a mixed-species flock in…

Golden banks of common rock-rose make a spectacular sight on our chalk and limestone grasslands in summer. A creeping shrub, it is good for bees, moths and butterflies.

Famed for its super-fast fishing dives into the sea, the northern gannet (or gannet) is a distinctive white bird with a yellow head and black wingtips. It nests in large, noisy, smelly colonies on…

If you have a garden pond, look out for the large red damselfly resting at the water's edge. As the name suggests, males are bright red with a black thorax, but females may be almost entirely…

The teal is a pretty, little dabbling duck, which can be easily spotted in winter on reservoirs, gravel pits, and flooded meadows. Watching flocks of this bird wheel through a winter sky is a true…

The black-tailed godwit is a rare breeding bird in the UK that has suffered from dramatic declines. It can most easily be spotted around the coast in winter and at inland wetlands when on…

The pyramidal orchid lives up to its name - look for a bright pinky-purple, densely packed pyramid of flowers atop a green stem. It likes chalk grassland, sand dunes, roadside verges and quarries…

The shanny is a common sight in rockpools all around the UK. They are feisty little fish and have been known to bite when caught, so watch your fingers!