This gentle giant is the largest shark in UK seas, reaching up to 12m in length. There's no need to fear them though, they only eat plankton!

The brown hare is known for its long, black-tipped ears and fast running - it can reach speeds of 45mph when evading predators.

This secretive bird is a member of the rail family, related to coots and moorhens. The breeding call, a rasping rattle, is given mostly at night, sometimes for hours on end.

The Migrant hawker is not a particularly aggressive species, and may be seen feeding in large groups. It flies late into autumn and can be seen in gardens, grasslands and woodlands.

The garden tiger is an attractive, brown-and-white moth of sand dunes, woodland edges, meadows and hedgerows; it will also visit gardens. In decline, it is suffering from the 'tidying up…

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.

The Heath bumblebee is not only found on heathland, but also in gardens and parks. It nests in small colonies of less than 100 workers in all kinds of spots, such as old birds' nests, mossy…

As its name suggests, the shaggy inkcap, or 'lawyer's wig', has a woolly, scaly surface to its bell-shaped toadstools. It is very common and can be seen at the road side, in…