The song of the skylark has been the subject of many great musical and literary works. A quintessential feature of our farmland and grasslands habitats, it is declining rapidly with habitat loss…

Like many of our farmland birds, the corn bunting has declined in number in recent years. Spot this streaky brown, thick-billed bird singing from a wire or post - it sounds just like a set of…

Cotoneaster was introduced to the UK in 1879 from Eastern Asia as an ornamental plant. It is now an invasive non-native species which is taking over valuable habitats including limestone…

The Early purple orchid is one of the first orchids to pop up in spring. Look for its pinkish-purple flowers from April, when bluebells still carpet our woodland floors. Its leaves are dark green…

The Canada goose is our most familiar goose, although it is not actually native to the UK. A common and bold bird, it can be found around most parks, lakes, reservoirs and gravel pits.

As its name suggests, giant hogweed it a large umbellifer with distinctively ridged, hollow stems. An introduced species, it is an invasive weed of riverbanks, where it prevents native species…