The stiff, spiky and upright leaves and brown flowers of hard rush are a familiar sight of wetlands, riversides, dune slacks and marshes across England and Wales.

The fearsome-looking hornet may not be a well-loved insect, but it is actually much less aggressive than the common wasp. It is also an important pollinator and a predator of species that feed on…

Known for its bandit-like appearance, the polecat was once so persecuted it was on the brink of extinction in the UK. Thankfully, numbers are now increasing in rural Wales and parts of England.…

The common clubtail is on the wing in spring and summer. It is an elusive dragonfly that is easiest to see when it first emerges. It can be found along rivers in Southern England and Wales.

A scarce tree of England and Wales, the large-leaved lime is the rarest of our native limes. It is tall and broad, and can be found in forests and parks, where it is frequently planted.

A great way to get up close and personal with the magnificent osprey is via one of the many nestcams set-up in the places that it breeds: Scotland, Cumbria, Wales and Rutland in the Midlands.

This dazzling moss grows in dark places, catching any faint light to glow a golden-green.

The pretty Deptford pink is a very rare flower that is very vulnerable to the loss of our traditional grassland and farmland habitats. It can only be found in a few places in England and Wales.…