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

Bell heather is our most familiar heather. In summer, it carpets our heaths, woods and coasts with purple-pink flowers that attract all kinds of nectar-loving insects.

The common whelk is the largest sea snail found in UK seas, though you're more likely to find the dry balls of empty whelk egg capsules washed up in strandlines.

The eerie, 'cur-lee' call of the curlew is a familiar sound of wet grasslands, moorlands, farmland and coasts. Its unmistakeable long, downcurved bill is perfect for probing the mud for…

A pretty, little gull, the kittiwake can be spotted nesting in colonies on clifftops and rock ledges around the UK's coast. It spends the winter out at sea.

A scarce but distinctive brown seaweed with curved, funnel-shaped fronds. It is a warmer water species at the northern edge of its range on the south coast of England.

The fluffy, white heads of common cotton-grass dot our brown, boggy moors and heaths as if a giant bag of cotton wool balls has been thrown across the landscape!

A scrambling plant, Common vetch has pink flowers. It is a member of the pea family and can be seen on grassland, farmland and waste ground, as well as at the coast.

A scrambling plant, Tufted vetch has violet flowers. It is a member of the pea family and can be seen along woodland edges, on scrubland and grassland, and at the coast.

Plaice is a common sight all around our coasts - if you can spot it! They are extremely well camouflaged against the seabed and can even change colour to better match their surroundings.