Hazel dormice are hard to spot – not only do they only come out at night, but they are also only found in very few places in the UK. Dormice spend a lot of their time hibernating – and are known…

Look out for the white, umbrella-like flower heads of lesser water-parsnip along the shallow margins of ditches, ponds, lakes and rivers. When crushed, it does, indeed, smell like parsnip!

Look out for the black guillemot all year-round at scattered coastal sites in Scotland, England, Wales and the Isle of Man. It tends not to travel far between seasons, breeding and wintering in…

The graceful great crested grebe is a familiar sight on our lakes and reservoirs, and is well-known for its elaborate courtship dance, during which it rises vertically out of the water and shakes…

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…

Parsley fern lives up to its name - the pale green fronds form in clusters among rocks and look just like parsley. Look out for it in upland areas, particularly in Wales and Cumbria.

It's easy to see where the snakelocks anemone got its name when you spot its flowing tentacles. But be careful when out rockpooling, those tentacles give a nasty sting!

The red-throated diver lives up to its name - the distinctive red patch on its throat heralds the breeding season. In summer, it nests in Scotland, but look out for it around the UK's coast…