Listen out for the 'chattering' song of the reed warbler, while wandering the UK's lowland wetlands in summer. A small, brown bird, they are quite hard to see.

Look for the unusual flowers of lords-and-ladies in spring woodlands: a pale green sheath surrounds a spike of tiny, yellow flowers. This spike eventually forms a familiar, short stalk of striking…

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.

The beautiful pink and white bands of a Painted topshell make it easy to see where this little sea snail got its name!

Male capercaillies perform spectacular communal displays in spring, gathering in woodland clearings to parade around, fanning their magnificent tail feathers and making strange gulping and…

These winter visitors are close relatives of the chaffinch and can often be found in the same flocks, where their white rump and nasal calls give them away.

This clown-like fish is a favourite amongst divers and snorkellers. They are inquisitive little souls and will investigate divers near their hidey-hole homes.

The tiny, brown-and-white sand martin is a common summer visitor to the UK, nesting in colonies on rivers, lakes and flooded gravel pits. It returns to Africa in winter.

A familiar shrub of hedgerows and woodland edges, blackthorn comes alive in spring when it bursts into a froth of white blossom. It is well known for its sloes, too - the blue-black fruits used in…

So-named because its gnarled trunk can split as it grows, the crack willow can be seen along riverbanks, around lakes and in wet woodlands. Like other willows, it produces catkins in spring.