The Common fragrant-orchid lives up to its name: it produces a sweet, orangey smell that is very strong in the evening. Look for its densely packed, pink flower spikes on chalk grasslands in…

Tormentil can be found growing on acid grassland, heathland and moorland, but even pops up alongside roads. It bears yellow, buttercup-like flowers, but with only four petals (buttercups have five…

A pretty and distinctive little waterbird, the mandarin duck was introduced from the Far East as its name suggests. Oddly for a duck, it nests in trees, sometimes high above the water.

The huge white-tailed eagle is our largest bird of prey. After being persecuted to extinction in the UK, it has been successfully reintroduced in Scotland and, more recently, to the Isle of Wight…

The Banded demoiselle can be seen flitting around slow-moving rivers, ponds and lakes. The males are metallic blue, with a distinctive dark band across their wings, and the females are a shiny…

The common shieldbug was once restricted to Southern England, but has since been moving northwards and is now quite widespread. It can be found in all kinds of habitats from gardens to farms.

The green sandpiper is a very rare breeding bird in the UK, and is mainly seen on migration in autumn. Look out for it feeding around marshes, flooded gravel pits and rivers. It even likes sewage…

A common dragonfly of canals, marshes, reedbeds and lakes, the Brown hawker can be seen patrolling the water or 'hawking' through woodland rides. It is easily distinguished by its…

The meadow pipit favours moorland and grassland. It is an unfortunate victim of cuckolding behaviour - their own young being pushed out of the nest, so they can look after the 'parasitic…

Flowering rush is a pretty rush-like plant of shallow wetland habitats, such as ponds, canals and ditches. Its cup-shaped, pink flowers appear in summer, brightening up the water's edge.