From spring, look out for the beautiful, speckled gold-and-black breeding plumage of the golden plover. It can be found in its upland moorland breeding grounds from May to September, moving to…

Many of us have felt the painful bite of the twin-lobed deer-fly (a 'horse-fly') while out walking in damp grasses or woods. But mostly, it prefers to feed on the blood of cows and…

Despite having the familiar sage-green leaves, Wood sage has very little scent, so is not a good cooking herb. It can be found on acidic soils on sand dunes, heaths and cliffs, and along woodland…

Native oysters are a staple of our seas and our plates - but our love of their taste has lead to a sharp decline all around the UK.

The black garden ant is the familiar and abundant small ant that lives in gardens, but also turns up indoors searching for sugary food. In summer, winged adults, or 'flying ants', swarm…

The variable damselfly looks a lot like the azure damselfly, but is much less common throughout most of the UK.

Common couch is a tall, tuft-forming grass of roadside verges, waste ground and arable land. It is very tough and can shade out more delicate plants. Look for flat, blade-like leaves and thin…

Red squirrels are native to the UK but are a lot rarer than their grey cousins. They live in a few special places across the UK thanks to reintroduction projects.

The shells of this small scallop are often found washed up on our shores and comes in lots of different colours, including pink, red, orange and purple.!