The common field grasshopper can be found in sunny, grassy areas, particularly gardens, throughout summer. Males can be seen rubbing their legs against their wings to create a 'song' for…

Pellitory-of-the-wall is a small to medium-sized herb that frequently grows from cracks in old stone walls, pavements, cliffs and banks, and churches and ruins.

The delicate, tube-like, violet-blue flowers of Skullcap bloom from June to September in damp places, such as marshes, fens, riverbanks and pond margins.

A much-loved garden bird, the blackbird is famous for its harmonious song. In winter, our resident birds are joined by migrants from Scandinavia and the Baltics.

The lesser spotted woodpecker is the smallest of the UK's woodpeckers. Listen out for its drumming, which is quieter than that of the great spotted woodpecker, in woodland, parks , orchards…

Chinese water deer are easily distinguished from other deer by their strange teddy bear like appearance and the huge canine tusks displayed by the stags.

The melodious song of the nightingale is the most likely sign of this bird being about. Shy and secretive, it sings from dense scrub and woodland, day and night.

A well-travelled migrant, the painted lady arrives here every summer from Europe and Africa. This beautiful orange-and-black butterfly regularly visits gardens.

The common spotted-orchid is the easiest of all our orchids to see: sometimes, so many flowers appear together that they create a pale pink carpet in our woodlands, old quarries, dunes and marshes…